


PART THREE: The Longest Week in Earth's History

by eadreytheiptscray



Series: A Rare Thing, Indeed [4]
Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Stranger Things Fusion, Angst and Feels, Chuck Hansen Lives, Drift Compatibility, F/M, First Dance, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Ghost Drifting, Kaiju War (Pacific Rim), Mutual Pining, Operation Pitfall (Pacific Rim), Post-Drift (Pacific Rim), Slow Burn, Talking To Dead People, The Upside Down, the Kwoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2019-10-08 16:31:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 74,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17389808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eadreytheiptscray/pseuds/eadreytheiptscray
Summary: Raleigh Becket and Mako Mori find themselves at the Shatterdome during humanity's last stand. But before Operation Pitfall can commence, Lady Danger needs suitable pilots.Part three of five follows Raleigh and Mako in the final days of the Kaiju War. This fic parallels the events of the first Pacific Rim movie, but with some twists thrown in. Here's what you'll find:- the reunion you've all been waiting for and one you weren't expecting- scenes that were in the novel but sadly not in the movie- heartbreaking headcanons and fluff to soften the blow- the pinnacle of the Chuck and Raleigh Rivalry- heartfelt conversations through the Ghost Drift





	1. Three Years, Ten Months, Four Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "Jet Pack Blues" by Fall Out Boy (it's got a Pacific Rim reference in it, how could I not include it?)  
> \- "The Shatterdome" by Ramin Djawadi  
> \- "Judgement Day" by Ukrainian Hardstylerz  
> \- "New Divide" by Linkin Park  
> \- "Ocean Eyes" by Billie Eilish

**WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2025**  
**THE SHATTERDOME HELIPAD, PACIFIC RIM NATIONAL PARK RESERVE**

 

Mako watches from underneath her umbrella as Sensei steps out of the helicopter and strides across the tarmac alone. _Sensei could have told me he was looking for a former pilot_ , she huffs. _Pilot trials are in two days. We don't have time to get them up to speed. And I don't have time to play tour guide._

A cargo helicopter lands beside Sensei's, and Newt and Dr. Gottlieb emerge, trailing giant tanks. Inside, preserved kaiju remains slosh around in amber liquid. Mako's stomach churns, and she clutches her tablet tighter to her chest.

 _Get it together, Mako_ , she chastises herself. _If you're going to face a kaiju in a jaeger, you'll have to get used to seeing this._

Sensei joins her in the middle of the helipad, and Mako hands him one of the umbrellas on her arm to shield him from the downpour. Her stomach is in knots, but it's not because of the kaiju entrails this time.

Whoever's going to step out of that helicopter will be her co-pilot if Chuck refuses to ride with her. She exhales slowly. But she can't bring herself to see who it will be. Instead, she turns to Sensei.

" _You know Chuck and I are Drift Compatible_ ," she says. " _Why are you bringing in someone else? There is no guarantee they will be—_ "

" _Mako_ ," Sensei sighs, " _we've talked about this_."

" _You always say that Sen—Marshal_ ," she corrects herself.

Sensei looks like he's about to reply, but his attention turns to the former pilot, who's sauntering up to join them. Sensei lifts the other umbrella from Mako's arm and hands it to the stranger. Mako doesn't meet his eyes.

"So this is it," the man says.

It's not the freezing rain that chills Mako to the bone. _I know that voice_. Time slows to a crawl. Mako's breath catches in her chest. _But it can't be..._

"—the Mark III Restoration Project." Sensei motions to her. "Speaking of which..."

She wishes she were anywhere else than on the dark tarmac—the Jaeger Testing floor at Shao Industries, her old Hong Kong apartment, Bay 02 where she's been restoring Lady Danger. But she's a Ranger now. A good soldier. She squares her shoulders.

 _You said you would Drift with whoever stepped off that helicopter_ , she reminds herself. _At least you know you're Drift Compatible with Raleigh Becket_. Slowly, she tilts her umbrella back.

"Mr. Becket, this is Mako Mori. One of our brightest."

It had been three years, ten months, and four days since she'd last heard Raleigh's voice. Four years, seven months, and twenty-one days since she'd last seen him. To say he looks different is an understatement. His once-cropped military haircut is gone, but his blonde hair isn't as shaggy as it had been in college. He looks older, especially with the beard, but something about his gaze makes Mako think he'd aged ten years.

Sensei clears his throat, and Mako finds her voice.

" _I imagined the Ranger differently_ ," she mutters to Sensei in Japanese. It's true: She had been expecting a washed-out pilot, probably drunk more hours than sober, and with more baggage than an airport lost-and-found. All of Lady Danger's pilots, she'd heard, were cocky and self-absorbed. Which, considering the kid she'd known in college, is at least half true of Raleigh.

"Hey," Raleigh croaks, " _better or worse_?"

 _Oh. He must have learned Japanese since he graduated. That's..._  She can't decide what she thought. Instead, out of common courtesy, she bows and apologizes. Raleigh nods, a smile slowly brightening his face. She doesn't return one.

The walk to the elevator, just meters away, is the longest walk of Mako's life. _Where has he been hiding this whole time?_ She wonders.  _Sensei was only gone for a couple of hours—was Raleigh working on the Wall? Why didn't he let anyone know where he was for almost four years? Surely he doesn't expect things to go back to normal. Not after…_ She shakes Yancy's ghost out of her head.

Fortunately, she doesn't have to make small talk on the ride down. Just before the doors close, Newt and Dr. Gottlieb rush in behind their tanks of kaiju entrails. Mako swallows the bile rising in her throat.

"Stay back. Kaiju specimens are extremely rare, so look but don't touch, please." Newt shrugs off his soaked winter coat and leather jacket and tosses both on the tank behind him. Dr. Gottlieb merely throws his hood down.

"Mr. Becket, this is our research team: Dr. Gottlieb and Dr. Geiszler." Sensei introduces them to Raleigh, not that he needs to. From his small smile, Raleigh remembers the two from his time at Pacific Rim University.

"Oh, nah, call me Newt," Newt says distractedly as he rolls up his sleeves, clearly unaware that he knows the guy standing next to him. "Only my mother calls me doctor." He turns to Dr. Gottlieb. "Hermann, these are human beings. Why don't you say hello?"

"Newton, I asked you not to refer to me by my first name around others," Dr. Gottlieb says stiffly. "I am a doctor with over—"

"'Over ten years of experience,' I'm very sorry," Newt mimics. He brushes rain water off his white button-up shirt.

"Nice ink," Raleigh remarks.

Newt snaps his head up. "Woah, Raleigh Becket? Geez, man, it's good to see you again."

Raleigh returns Newt's eager handshake. "Who's that, Yamarashi?"

"What, this little kaiju? Yeah, you got a good eye. Did you and your brother take him down?"

Mako sees Raleigh grimace at the mention of Yancy, but he answers the question anyway. "Nah, he was before our time. Ace and Spades Smith took him down in 2018."

"You know he was one of the biggest Category IIIs ever?" Newt gushes. "He was twenty-five thousand pounds of awesome."

Silence settles over the crowded elevator. _Wrong move_ , Mako thinks, glancing at Sensei. _You can't say that in front of two veteran pilots who've lost family members to the kaiju._

"Or awful," Newt corrects. "Whatever you wanna call—"

"Please excuse him," Dr. Gottlieb interjects with the air of a frustrated nanny. "He's a kaiju groupie. He loves them—"

"Shut up, Hermann, I don't love them, okay? I study them. And unlike most people, I wanna see one alive and up close one day."

The elevator dings. Mako rushes out first. Sensei follows on her heels.

"Trust me," she hears Raleigh say, "you don't want to.”

 _I don’t know if I can Drift with him again_ , Mako thinks. _After Yancy died, I had panic attacks every night for months. I can't imagine what Raleigh would bring into the Drift._ She sighs as she waits by the doors leading to the central jaeger bays. _Besides, it's been almost five years since I've talked to him. I doubt we’re even Drift Compatible anymore._

“So that’s your research division?” Raleigh mutters to Sensei as they saunter down the hallway.

“Things have changed,” Sensei says. “We’re not an army anymore, Mr. Becket. We’re the resistance.”

Mako taps the security code into the keypad, and the doors hiss open. She sees Raleigh's eyes widen as the new command center slides into view.

"Welcome to the Shatterdome,” Sensei says as he steps through the doorway.

Raleigh strides across the polished concrete floor and gazes all around him. J-Techs and strike group support personnel are scurrying in and out of the cavernous space, across the floor, up to the Drivesuit and maintenance rooms on the mezzanine.

 _After almost four years, I bet he doesn't recognize this place_ , Mako thinks. She and Sensei follow closely behind him.

"We've relocated all of our jaeger teams to the center of the base for efficiency," Sensei explains. Raleigh nods slowly. Mako notices he's glancing at the "walls" on either side of the Shatterdome, doors to now-shuttered jaeger bays: seven on the left, seven on the right.

Personnel on all sides snap to attention as Sensei passes by. The jaeger pilots across the floor watch with interest. A few, Mako notices, recognize Raleigh. He, meanwhile, is still gazing around the Shatterdome in awe. Like he's back home.

He stops when he sees the massive flip clock ticking away over the doorway.

"War clock," Sensei explains, not breaking his stride. "We reset it after every kaiju attack. Keeps everyone focused. The frequency of attacks is accelerating."

"How long until the next reset?" Raleigh asks. He almost stumbles backwards into a J-Tech; she snaps at him in Spanish.

"A week, if we're lucky. My experts believe there will be a kaiju attack even before that." Sensei stops in the center of the cavernous space, turning around and waiting for Mako and Raleigh to catch up. "This complex used to launch twenty-one jaegers. Now we're down to four. Three are being reconstructed." He glances at Mako, and she senses fondness in his gaze. She returns a small smile.

"I didn't know it was this bad," Raleigh murmurs.

"It is that bad. You may remember some of these jaegers from your time here." Sensei points out Cheung, Hu, and Jin Wei and their jaeger to his left. They're passing a basketball back and forth, occasionally shooting it into the hoop mounted to the mezzanine. "Crimson Typhoon, China, Mark IV. One of the best, and the only three-pilot jaeger in the fleet. The Weis use the Thundercloud Formation—very effective."

Next to the Wei triplets, the Kaidonovskys are lounging at the base of their jaeger. A vintage stereo sits between them, and they're both nodding their heads in time with the music. _If you can call it that_.

"Cherno Alpha, Russia, Mark I. Built like a T-90 with a nuclear power core. It's the heaviest and oldest jaeger in the service, but make no mistake, Mr. Becket, it's a brutal war machine. And those two," he says, pointing out Aleksis and Sasha Kaidonovsky, "are a husband-and-wife team. They hold the record for the longest sustained Neural Handshake, over eighteen hours.”

"Yeah, I first met them in college," Raleigh says in awe. "Are they still Perimeter patrol in the Upside—er, Anteverse?”

Pentecost nods. "On their watch, no kaiju escaped the Breach for nearly six years."

Mako sneers as the Kaidonovskys crank up their music. Clearly, she's not the only one who hates the heavy bass and harsh synthesizers.

"Your music is horrible!" Cheung Wei shouts over the din.

"Horrible!" Hu echoes, passing the basketball to his brother.

"Don't disrespect the 'Dome!" Jin adds, shooting the ball toward the hoop. The chain net jingles as the ball goes in, and the ball bounces once before Cheung catches it.

No matter how many times she'd seen jaeger pilots interact after a mission, Mako still gets spooked by the Ghost Drift. She'd learned all about it in the Jaeger Academy, of course, but seeing its effects in person is another matter entirely.

Aleksis jumps to his feet, but Sasha remains seated by the stereo. "If you have a problem with Ukrainian Hard House, you have a problem with life," she calls. Behind her, Cherno Alpha's jaeger support crew emerges from the shadow of the mezzanine. Crimson Typhoon's crew follows suit.

Mako smirks at Raleigh's stunned reaction. He glances toward Sensei, probably hoping he'll intervene before things get heated, but Sensei is already halfway across the Shatterdome. Taking a last look at the simmering feud, Raleigh jogs to catch up. Mako trails him.

"Over there is Striker Eureka. Australia. The first of the Mark Vs. Fastest jaeger ever made."

J-Techs are swarming over the mech, cleaning kaiju gunk from its blades and refilling fluids and munitions after Striker Eureka's battle with Mutavore. Off to the side are the Hansens, Chuck in his drivesuit and Herc in his old Lucky Seven vest—"you can thank our crew for starting the matching jaeger gear tradition," he'd told Mako proudly one day at dinner.

As Raleigh and Sensei approach, Mako notices Chuck stiffen. Herc gives Chuck a _wait here_ gesture and struts over to join the group in the middle of Striker Eureka's jaeger bay. Max is sitting at Chuck's feet, but as soon as he sees Mako, he trots across the Shatterdome with his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

"Hey, Max, you remember me!" Mako kneels down to scratch him behind the ears, glad that Raleigh and Sensei don't wait up for her. The bulldog whines contentedly and gives her a toothy grin. She can't help but smile back. _This is the distraction I needed._

"Don't drool all over Miss Mori," Herc calls to Max. And to Raleigh and Sensei, "sees a pretty girl and gets all wound up."

"Mr. Becket, this is Hercules Hansen," Sensei says proudly. "He's an old friend from the Mark I glory days."

Mako watches Raleigh shake Herc's outstretched hand.

"We rode together before, yeah?" Herc asks.

"No, sir, we haven't. But back in 2019, my brother and…" Raleigh trails off, flicking his eyes over to Chuck, who hasn't moved out of Striker Eureka's shadow.

Herc nods knowingly. "Sorry about your brother, mate."

Raleigh doesn't answer. He glances over at Chuck again and nods to say hello. Chuck doesn't return the gesture.

 _Interesting_ , Mako muses, standing up and rejoining the group. Max follows, trotting back to Chuck's side and plopping down at his feet. _So Chuck and Yancy were Drift partners, after all_.

"Herc and his son Chuck will be running point," Sensei says to Raleigh.

That catches Raleigh by surprise. "Wait, running point on what?"

"Operation Pitfall. Striker Eureka will strap enough Semtex around the Breach to eliminate it and everything inside the Anteverse within thirty meters. You and the other two jaegers will be running defense for them."

"I thought we were the resistance," Raleigh mutters. "Where'd you get something like that?"

"See the Russians back there? They can get just about anything." Sensei turns on his heel, leaving Mako and Raleigh alone. "Herc, shall we?"

 _That's my cue_. "I'll show you to your jaeger now," she says to Raleigh.

"Mako, will you give me a minute?" He struts across the Shatterdome to catch up with Sensei. While they trade questions and answers, Mako stalks over to Chuck. She lifts an eyebrow at him in a _what gives?_ gesture. But Chuck grits his teeth and shakes his head, letting Max lead him out of the Shatterdome behind his father.

Raleigh returns with a faraway look in his eyes. _Good, he's distracted. He's not going to make small talk._ Mako relaxes slightly as she leads the way to the jaeger bay beyond Striker Eureka's, where a crowd of J-Techs are peering down from the mezzanine or behind the navy blue and silver jaeger.

 _It's a big boost for morale bringing back one of Lady Danger's former pilots_ , Mako muses. _But is it the right decision?_

Regardless, it's not her place to comment. Instead, she directs Raleigh's attention to the jaeger standing in the shadows. "There she is."

Raleigh stops right in the middle of the jaeger bay, jaw open, his rucksack slipping from his shoulders. He doesn't speak for a few minutes.

"Lady Danger," he breathes. "So beautiful… she looks like new."

"Better than new," Mako says, raising her chin ever so slightly. "She has a double-core nuclear reactor. She's one-of-a-kind now.”

"She always was."

"How do you like your ride, Becket boy?" Tendo calls as he steps down from the mezzanine. "Solid titanium hull, no alloys. Hyper-torque drivers in every limb and a new fluid synapse system."

"Tendo!" Raleigh closes the gap between them and embraces his old friend in a bear hug. It’s a touching reunion. Jealousy bubbles up, but Mako pushes the feeling down. What did she expect after four years of radio silence?

* * *

Mako finishes the Shatterdome tour mentally exhausted, wanting to just curl up under her covers and go to sleep for twenty-four hours. Getting away from Raleigh is out of the question, however; his room is right across the hall from hers. Just her luck. She notices his belongings—a battered black hiking backpack and a worn leather jacket—waiting for him on his bunk.

As soon as Raleigh steps inside the tiny space, he drops his rucksack to the floor and digs through the backpack, pulling out a stack of photos. _Polaroids_ , Mako realizes. _He kept the camera_.

She's about to retreat to her room when Raleigh breaks the silence.

"So what's your story? Restoring old jaegers, showing has-beens like me around? I thought you'd be running NASA by now."

 _I had those dreams a lifetime ago_. She clutches her tablet closer to her chest, debating whether she should answer him or run away. _If there's any chance we're going to pilot Lady Danger together, I can't keep secrets from him_. "I want to be a pilot," she says finally.

Raleigh's face brightens. "Yeah? What's your simulator score?"

"Fifty-one drops, fifty-one kills."

Raleigh whistles; Mako feels her face flush. "That's amazing. Are you one of the candidates for Friday?"

"No. The Marshal has his reasons."

A pause. It's quick, but it's noticeable. "He always does, doesn't he? Though with fifty-one kills, I can't imagine what they could be."

 _Not wanting to lose another loved one, probably_. She sighs and squeezes the edges of her tablet. "I hope you do well during the testing," she says through gritted teeth. But before she can leave, Raleigh asks her a more personal question.

"Have you told the Marshal that we Drifted together?"

There's a look on his face Mako doesn't recognize. Unease, maybe? Or is it hurt?

She shakes her head. "It never seemed relevant."

"But if you want to pilot Lady Danger so bad, you need to know you can trust your co-pilot. We're Drift Compatible, Mako. We've proved that to Tendo, Newt, Dr. Gottlieb—"

"I don't know if we are anymore." Guilt crashes over her as she watches Raleigh's face fall. _I didn't mean to say it like that._

Raleigh doesn't even try to respond. Instead, he distracts himself with the photos in his hands.

"Maybe you're right. It's been almost four years since…" He frowns at the photo on top of the pile: him and Yancy in matching leather jackets, dog tags, and corps-issued T-shirts, grinning at the camera like little kids at Christmastime. That photo goes on the bottom of the pile.

The next is one he and Mako both recognize. Her distracted expression in the picture brings back memories of that diner in Port Angeles. Their biggest concern then had been whether they would Skype regularly after Raleigh enlisted in the Jaeger Academy. That photo goes on the bottom of the pile, too.

"But one day," Raleigh continues, "when you're a pilot, you're going to see that trust is everything. You fight together. You make decisions together. And sometimes, you have to live with the consequences alone." He meets her eyes for the first time since their reunion on the helipad that evening. "That's what I'm trying to do."

It's all Mako can do not to race to her room. She instead steps across the hall, crosses the threshold, and shuts her door quietly. Once inside, she drops her stoic Ranger facade, tossing her tablet and long black coat onto her cluttered desk and flopping onto her bed. She stays there for what feels like an hour. The evening's events replay in her mind, and she desperately wants to hit rewind.

They'd hit rocky patches in their friendship before. There was that time in college, after Raleigh relived his mother's funeral during their fourth Drift, when they didn't speak for a month. And when Raleigh enlisted in the Jaeger Academy during Mako's senior year, they only Skyped a handful of times. Then, of course, there was Knifehead…

They'd always bounced back. _But that was before Raleigh disappeared for four years_ , Mako reminds herself.

And thinking about that evening's events brings up another matter: Chuck Hansen. Raleigh's aside to Herc confirmed what Mako had suspected for months, that Chuck and Yancy were co-pilots. Their Drift may have failed in college, but they somehow learned to trust each other enough to pilot a ten-ton jaeger through an alien world.

 _I have to know Chuck's side of things_. She looks at her watch—20:30. If he isn't in the mess hall or out walking Max, he's probably holed up in Striker Eureka's old jaeger bay. Taking a deep breath, she gets up and strides back out, locking her door behind her.

Through Raleigh's open door, she spies him tossing his dirty sweater and T-shirt onto his bunk. His beard is gone— _he must have just taken a shower_ , she thinks. But Mako freezes when she sees his scars: unsettling straight lines carved into his left shoulder, down his arm, and across his ribs. _Circuitry burns_.

Raleigh catches her staring as he's toweling off his hair. She averts her gaze and stalks toward the mess hall, wincing when she hears the slamming door echo down the hallway.

Chuck isn't in the mess hall, outside, or in Striker Eureka's old jaeger bay. Mako finally finds him in the Shatterdome itself, stepping out of the Drivesuit Room. She waits for him at the bottom of the stairs.

"Did you ever Drift with Raleigh?" She demands.

"Hello to you, too," he mutters, shoving his hands in his leather jacket pockets and turning out of the Shatterdome.

"You're one of the finalists to pilot Lady Danger," she continues, falling in step beside him. "Now that Raleigh Becket is back, it makes me think that you two are going to be co-pilots."

Chuck pales. "I told Pentecost that I'm not Drifting with him."

"Then why is only your name on the list? Surely if the Marshal were considering me—"

"Look, Mori, your guess is as good as mine. I'd be willing to ride with you. Not him. He's been gone too long."

 _And carries too many memories of your old co-pilot_ , Mako suspects. "If you want to avoid piloting Lady Danger with Raleigh, convince the Marshal to let me try out with you on Friday. There's little more I can do to persuade him."

"I'll think on it. Dunno know why my name is on that list in the first place."

"It's because you and Raleigh are the last Mark III pilots. And you both piloted Lady Danger."

Chuck sets his jaw and stalks toward the mess hall. Mako follows, her stomach growling. It's been a long day. But just as she carries her tray away from the line, she spots Raleigh stepping through the main entrance.

 _I'm not dealing with this again_. Instead of heading for the Striker Eureka table like always, she slinks out of the mess hall's side entrance and darts down the hallway toward Lady Danger's bay. _Just like old times_. As she munches on her pasta, Mako gazes at the mech towering above her, wondering if she'll ever get to stand in the Conn-Pod as a pilot.

If it were up to her, she wouldn't pilot Lady Danger with either Chuck or Raleigh. Chuck is bitter and entitled, and his abrasive personality overshadows his soft side. Raleigh is much more respectful, charming even, but there's just too much history between them.

Had Mako had this choice in college, she would've picked Raleigh to be her co-pilot without a second thought—he had been her best friend, after all. But that was a lifetime ago. Too many tragedies and years apart had driven a wedge between them.

No. If she could choose, she'd pick Sensei, if he could pilot a jaeger again. Or Jake, if he weren't still missing. Or Tam, if she were still alive.

 _I either Drift with Chuck or Raleigh or give up my dreams of being a pilot_ , she thinks bitterly. _Shao expects me back in Hong Kong in nine days. If I can't pilot Lady Danger…_ She sighs. _I'll find out on Friday, one way or another._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad I can finally post this chapter. Much of it follows the first film, but there are scenes in here pulled straight from the official Pacific Rim novel by Alex Irvine. The Weis and Kaidonovskys fighting over whose music is better? Fantastic.
> 
> The overall plot of this chapter stays true to the film, but the details are different. I have a lot of headcanons for this chapter (and for part three in general), but I'll be as brief as possible:
> 
> \- Like I mentioned in the chapter soundtrack above, "Jet Pack Blues" alludes to the rainy helipad scene in the line "She's in a long black coat tonight/Waiting for me in the downpour outside." [Pete Wentz said it himself in this interview](https://www.hmv.com/music/-we-try-to-make-people-happy-but-we-re-not-burger-king-we-have-to-move-forward-hmv-com-talks-to-fall-out-boy?fbclid=IwAR1z66dhIbzdpoO0Moq54YItpyCOhe-Eg3ggf3KMkzIRyjeMDfpTHvUssk0).  
> \- Herc and Scott Hansen, along with Lucky Seven's strike crew, started wearing matching Aussie vests in the early days of the Kaiju War. The other jaeger teams followed suit, albeit with different fashions. It kept up morale (and just looked cool).  
> \- Pentecost didn't know if he could recruit Raleigh for Operation Pitfall. That's why he left Raleigh's name off the list of potential jaeger pilots. Mako would have piloted Lady Danger with Chuck if the other candidates weren't suitable.  
> \- Mako's apprehension about meeting the new pilot is [based on this Tumblr post](http://harrietvane.tumblr.com/post/164675250721/jonn-stark-pacific-rim-2013-dir-guillermo-del).  
> \- The J-Tech Raleigh almost runs into is Jules Reyes (of Pacific Rim Uprising fame). She'll make an appearance later in this fic.


	2. It Looks Like We Both Have Something to Prove

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "Wish You Were Here" by Maya Beiser  
> \- "We Are the Resistance" by Ramin Djawadi  
> \- "Physical Compatibility" by Ramin Djawadi  
> \- "You Should See Me in a Crown" by Billie Eilish  
> \- "Darkside" by Alan Walker, Au/Ra, and Tomine Harket

**FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2025**  
**RALEIGH BECKET'S ROOM, FORMER J-TECH QUARTERS**

 

Being back at the Shatterdome dredges up tons of old memories, ones Raleigh would rather not dwell on right before pilot tryouts. More than once during the past two nights, he wakes up in a cold sweat with Yancy's name on his lips.

Ever since Knifehead, his nightmares had been merciless. As a deckhand, first on the _Saltchuck_ in Alaska and then the _Swan Song_ in British Columbia, he would dream of stormy seas sucking his brother into the abyss. Although he'd wake up screaming, his crewmates never complained—at least to his face.

When he took up construction, he would start his days with Yancy's last words ringing in his ears. He couldn't tell which was worse: Yancy's scream as he fell from a wall a hundred meters tall, or the silence when he inevitably hit the ground. The TV in his tiny motel room had been little comfort on those bitter mornings. Long shifts and tall glasses of whisky drove Raleigh past the point of exhaustion, but at least he was too tired to conjure up any nightmares.

It's 04:17 when he wakes up in his PPDC quarters gasping, paralyzed after watching Yancy call out to him from the window of a crashing Sikorsky—the same one Raleigh and Pentecost flew in on just two days ago. Only after concentrating on his surroundings ( _steel bunks from the Jaeger Academy days, standard-issue gray sheets, pillows that never fluff up right_ ) does he finally calm down.

It's too late to get any real rest, so he takes a lap around the Shatterdome to wake himself up. The smell of coffee wafting down the hallway reminds him that the stuff isn't rationed at the Pan-Pacific Defense Corps—finally, some good news out of the last two days.

After a quick bite to eat in the crowded mess hall, he heads upstairs to the equally crowded Kwoon Combat Room. _Looks like the whole Shatterdome got the memo_ , he muses, gazing at the finalists and spectators congregating in the hallway and spilling into the cavernous sparring room.

Muttering apologies, he squeezes past J-Techs, pilots, and Jaeger Academy cadets to retrieve a hanbō staff from the rack. He hears his name ripple through the sea of people, and he does his best to stay on the outskirts of the crowd.

He's not looking forward to sparring with Chuck. Judging by Chuck's face when he shoulders his way to the mat and spies Raleigh, Chuck isn't looking forward to it, either.

Joining Chuck at the front of the crowd are the Wei triplets and the Kaidonovskys. A few dozen cadets surround them, no doubt eager to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the legends. Raleigh catches a few of them yawning and figures it's pretty early for teenagers to be up.

He was surprised to learn, back at the Jaeger Academy, just how young cadets could be when they enlisted. He almost wishes he had enlisted at that age. But if he had, he wouldn't have gone to college—or met Mako Mori.

 _Mako_.

It had been four years since they'd last talked. Five since they'd seen each other face-to-face. And two days ago, their reunion wasn't the homecoming Raleigh had hoped for.

 _I did disappear for four years_ , he thinks. _I let her down. I let everyone down. I don't deserve to be back here, trying out to pilot Lady Danger again…_

Not for the first time, he hears Yancy's voice in the back of his mind: _You're not going soft on me, are you, kid?_

He shakes his head and watches the candidates on the mat size each other up.

The first pilot hopefuls start the tryouts under the watchful eyes of Pentecost and Mako. She calls out their scores mechanically, jotting down notes on her tablet. _She looks like she'd rather be on the mat than observing_ , Raleigh thinks.

The first pair lasts only a minute before the smaller one wins: four to one. The second, a closer three-four match, lasts not much longer at a minute and a half. The third pair trades blows for almost three minutes before the heavier of the two earns the final point. Raleigh wonders how long he would last against Chuck.

He doesn't have to wait long to find out. Raleigh earns the first point easily, catching Chuck in the ribs after sidestepping his aggressive hanbō thrust. Chuck lands his first point a few seconds later, striking Raleigh on his bad shoulder.

"One to one," Mako calls.

It takes them thirty seconds to score the next point, Raleigh's, poking Chuck in the sternum with the butt of his hanbō. Another thirty before Chuck responds by whacking Raleigh's ankle.

 _Chuck's making this personal_ , he muses. Not that he can blame him. The last time Raleigh had been around Chuck, the guy had been passed out on the second bunk in Lady Danger's quarters. Out of commission after a rugby injury. One that Chuck hasn't wholly healed from, judging by the limp.

In the days after Knifehead, Raleigh hadn't seen Chuck at all. It wasn't surprising, considering he'd been confined to the med bay, alone in a two-bed room. But he thought—Raleigh still isn't positive, since he'd been on some powerful painkillers—he'd heard Chuck scream at his doctor just outside the closed door. "No, doc," he'd said, "you've made a mistake. Yancy should've been the one to come back."

 _Quit it_ , Yancy's ghost says.

His recollection costs him a point. "Three to two," Mako calls. Raleigh grits his teeth and forces himself to focus.

But then Raleigh notices Chuck's aggressive demeanor wane.

 _He's giving up_. They hadn't ever Drifted, but Raleigh recognizes a RABIT chase in Chuck's expression—like he's staring at something that isn't there. It's quick enough that Raleigh can't get back at Chuck for his cheap shot.

"I can't do this," Chuck mutters, loosening his grip on his hanbō.

"What are you talking about?" Raleigh aims a blow that Chuck doesn't bother blocking.

"Three to three," Mako calls.

"I'm not getting in that jaeger with you," Chuck snaps at him, "even if we are Drift Compatible."

Raleigh freezes again. But Chuck doesn't take advantage of his hesitation this time. Without making or taking the fourth and final blow, Chuck throws down his hanbō and stalks out of the Kwoon, oblivious to Pentecost barking orders. He and Raleigh had lasted nearly five minutes on the mat, blowing all of the other finalist pairs out of the water.

Behind him, Raleigh hears Pentecost and Mako speaking quickly in Japanese.

" _He told you he refused to Drift with Raleigh_ ," Mako says, setting her hands on her hips. " _Let me go against Chuck, instead_."

" _Stepping off the mat during a match is an automatic forfeit_ ," Pentecost replies.

" _Fine. Then let me go against Raleigh. You saw the way he fought—he could have taken Chuck two moves earlier_."

 _She knows I understand Japanese_ , Raleigh thinks, leaning on his hanbō to watch them. _She wants me to hear this conversation_. "Two, huh? You think so?" He calls out, startling them. He swears he sees a hint of a smirk on Mako's face.

"I know so," she says matter-of-factly.

"Then can we change this up?" Raleigh asks Pentecost. "How about we give her a shot?"

"No. We stick to the list we have, Ranger. Only candidates with Drift Compatibility—"

"Which I have, Marshal," Mako pleads.

Pentecost's next words are so quiet Raleigh almost misses them: "Mako, this is not only about a neural connection, it's also about a physical compatibility."

"What's the matter, Marshal? Don't think your brightest can cut it in the ring with me?" _I wish I got that reaction on video_ , Raleigh thinks, unable to hide his smirk after seeing Pentecost sigh in defeat. But it's Mako's attitude that surprises him most.

The second Pentecost plucks the tablet from her hands, she tilts her chin up, throws her shoulders back, and saunters to the rack to retrieve her hanbō. Now that she isn't hiding behind her tablet and weighed down by her administrative duties, Mako acts like any other Ranger.

 _She belongs in a jaeger. Why can't Pentecost see that?_ Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Raleigh waits impatiently while Mako steps out of her shoes and ties the top half of her navy J-Tech jumpsuit at her waist.

A hush settles over the crowd as Mako steps onto the mat. She bows to Raleigh politely, but there's a spark in her brown eyes.

"Remember, it's about compatibility," Raleigh reminds her. "It's a dialogue, not a fight. But I'm not going to dial down my moves."

"Okay," she calls from across the room. "Then neither will I."

 _Oh, this is going to be fun_.

Mako makes the first move, a formal greeting in the language of the Kwoon. Raleigh responds in kind. When Mako doesn't attempt to attack first, Raleigh steps forward and brings his hanbō down to her forehead. She doesn't flinch.

"One-zero," Raleigh says.

That's when she strikes. Raleigh barely registers her lightning-fast attack when her hanbō stops just inches from his face. _Woah._

"One-one," she gloats, bringing the staff to her side.

Raleigh takes his chance: He whacks the end of her hanbō.

"Two-one. Concentrate."

She seems to anticipate his next attack, blocking every swing before taking advantage of an opening. "Two-two. Better watch it."

Raleigh advances again, and as he expects, Mako counters his strikes. What he doesn't expect is her to use his weight against him, flipping him over her back and onto the floor. He finds the end of her hanbō waiting for him when he rights himself.

"Three-two," she breathes, bringing her hanbō back to her side.

" _Miss Mori. More control_ ," Pentecost reprimands her in Japanese.

Raleigh sees her clench her jaw, where sweat gleams in the light of the Kwoon. He'd never noticed her excellent jawline before—perfectly fitting for someone so regal and full of steel. _Head in the present, Raleigh_ , he reminds himself. He gets to his feet and assumes a defensive position.

Something clicks. Somehow, he sees Mako's attacks coming. He knows she anticipates his, too. They cover nearly every inch of the mat, their hanbōs bouncing off each other or hitting air where just seconds before, their ankles or shoulders or elbows had been. They match each other, strike for parry.

After trading rapid-fire blows for a full minute, Mako hesitates for a split-second. That's when Raleigh makes his move. He throws Mako over his shoulder, and she hits the mat hard. The crowd gasps, but all Raleigh registers is Mako's bared teeth and fiery gaze. She springs to her feet with her hanbō outstretched, lifting her chin as if to say, _is that the best you can do?_

Raleigh grins. _Bring it on, Mako_.

The fourth point marks a win. Raleigh almost hates that the match is almost over. It seems like Mako is thinking the same thing; neither lets the other seize an opening. Their feet and bodies move with each other, finding their rhythm, like dancing. _Like Drifting._

It's Mako who lands the fourth and final blow, swooping her hanbō under Raleigh's ankle and dropping him flat on his back. Applause erupts from the spectators— _I forgot we had an audience_ , Raleigh thinks—and the excited murmurs make it clear that their performance lasted longer than all the other finalist pairs'.

"Enough," Pentecost says. "I've seen what I need to see."

"Me, too," Raleigh says breathlessly, jumping to his feet and throwing an arm around Mako. "She's my co-pilot."

He savors the elated smile she gives him—the first he's seen from her in years—but Pentecost's refusal brings him off Cloud Nine. "That won't work? Why not?"

"Because I said so, Mr. Becket. I've made my decision. Report to the Shatterdome in two hours to meet your new co-pilot."

Mako's face flushes. She bows to Pentecost and stalks to the edge of the mat to retrieve her boots. Raleigh watches helplessly as she slinks barefoot down the hallway with her head hung low. He sees Chuck lingering in the back of the dwindling crowd. He also sees the look he gives her as she brushes past him.

Raleigh grits his teeth. _I'm not buying this_. He returns his hanbō and chases after her.

"Mako, what was that all about?" He's breathless again by the time he catches up to her outside of their rooms. "You felt that, right? We're still Drift Compatible."

"Thank you for standing up for me," she says, backing up the stairs, "but there is nothing to talk about." She fiddles with the lock on the door—

"Uh, that's my room." He can't help but grin when she freezes, ducking her head and avoiding his gaze. Her face is bright red.

"Excuse me," she mutters, darting to the other side of the hallway.

He follows on her heels. "Mako, wait. What's Pentecost's problem? You don't have to just obey him."

She looks up from her doorway. Hesitates for a minute. Then, she finds her words. "It's not obedience, Raleigh. It's respect." And she shuts the door in his face.

He stands there for a good minute before retreating to his room. A shower—that's what he needs right now. A distraction. But the hot water doesn't help. Thousands of thoughts tumble around in his mind.

_Mako won't stand up to her adopted father. Fine. But Pentecost can't argue with facts. Chuck refuses to Drift with me, and besides, he and I didn't match each other as well as Mako and I did._

He steps into a clean pair of jeans and shrugs on a navy blue sweater. He tucks both sets of dog tags underneath his collar. Yancy's smug grin from across the room makes him feel worse.

Raleigh wanders over to the Polaroid taped to the wall by his bunk. He sighs and collapses onto the mattress. _Yance, what do I do?_

 _Talking to my picture again, Rals?_  Yancy's ghost chuckles. _You know I'm not here anymore. You gotta make your own choices now._

_What if I screw up? What if—_

_You're going to screw up. That's life._

_Mako won't talk to me. Chuck hates my guts. All because I got you killed—_

_Hey. We've been over this. We made that choice together. You didn't get me killed, you got yourself out. I would never forgive you if you'd died with me._

Raleigh sighs. _It's not the same without you here._

 _No kidding._ Raleigh can imagine Yancy smirking. _Are the Kaidonovskys still listening to awful music?_

Raleigh laughs. It hurts his throat.

Tendo's voice pulls him back to the present. "Lady Danger neural test commencing in twenty minutes. All personnel report to bay oh-two."

"Here we go," he mutters, rising from the bottom bunk. He takes a last look at Yancy's photo before stalking out of his room.

Across the hallway, Mako's door is still shut. Raleigh's feet carry him to the threshold, and his arm seems to rise of its own accord.

 _No_. He stops, his hand just inches from the door. _I know what she'll say. The Kwoon is the closest we'll get to Drifting again_.

He squares his shoulders and turns down the hallway. The little bit of hope he'd built up over the last couple of days crumbles with every step.

In a few minutes, he'll be stepping into a Conn-Pod for the first time since Yancy's death. Only this time, he won't be piloting his mech with someone he loves. He could almost see Chuck's cocky smirk from the right side of the rig.

Raleigh has enough trouble coping with his own thoughts. With Chuck as his co-pilot, he'd be reminded every day that it's his fault his brother's dead.

All to run a mission that might not work at all.

As he steps into the Drivesuit Room alone, Raleigh finds himself thinking, _could this day get any worse?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy almost Friday! I'm posting this chapter a day early because I'll be busy all this weekend.
> 
> Like most of the chapters in part three, I pulled these scenes from the first movie and the official Pacific Rim novel by Alex Irvine. Of course, I added my own spin on things—like Raleigh imagining Yancy speaking to him in the Ghost Drift and Chuck yelling at the doctors when they brought Raleigh back to the hospital wing.
> 
> This didn't fit in with the narrative so I'm explaining it here instead: Pentecost originally wanted Raleigh and Chuck to be co-pilots. Both were veterans, and both piloted Lady Danger before. That's why he didn't agree to let Mako be Raleigh's co-pilot. (And like [this Tumblr post](http://therealraewest.tumblr.com/post/172286487607/mako-mori-hey-dad-i-wanna-pilot-a-jaeger-stacker) suggests, Pentecost didn't want to lose another loved one—Tam died of cancer and Jake left the Jaeger Academy a while back.)
> 
> Personal aside about the Kwoon scene in the movie: I don't buy that Pentecost had a change of heart about letting Mako pilot Gipsy Danger. He's too stubborn. He said himself that he's a "fixed point" for everyone in the Shatterdome to look to. He can't waffle in his decisions, especially when it comes to selecting pilots of giant fighting robots. 
> 
> So in my interpretation, he only _seemed_ to change his mind by letting Mako spar with Raleigh. Of course, Raleigh didn't have all the facts—for instance, he didn't know that Mako saw killing kaiju as a way to avenge her family and keep others safe. The next chapter sheds a little more light on the situation.
> 
> Speaking of the next chapter, since I'm all caught up with my personal writing project, I'm back to my one-chapter-a-week posting schedule for February. Thanks for keeping up with this story!


	3. Persistence and Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "Drama" by Daichi Miura  
> \- "I Hear a Symphony" by Pizzicato Five  
> \- "What's Up Danger" by Blackway and Black Caviar  
> \- "Jaeger Tech" by Ramin Djawadi and Tom Morello  
> \- "Tokyo" by RM  
> \- "Mako" by Ramin Djawadi and Priscilla Ahn

**FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2025**  
**MAKO MORI'S ROOM, FORMER J-TECH QUARTERS**

 

A cursory glance around Mako's room would tell anyone that she's dedicated her whole professional life to building and restoring jaegers. On her desk, a scaled-down version of a jaeger's hand lies in pieces, with a spiky steel ball and chain taking up most of the space. Lady Danger's original blueprints, with improvements penciled in, are tacked to the wall above.

Her hand-forged creations serve as her only room decorations. Her pet project of so many years ago, a small humanoid mech she'd named the Demon Slayer, stands guard from the corner shelf next to her katana—the final project from her blacksmithing class at PRU. A way to connect with her late father.

But what's the use of working with her hands if she can't put her projects to good use? She fights the lump rising in her throat.

 _At this point,_ she thinks, _I have just one more chance to change Sensei's mind. Knowing him, he'll try to to convince Chuck to Drift with Raleigh. If their Drift doesn't work, I can step in._

But something tells her the two would Drift just fine. They're connected—not by friendship, but by Yancy.

"Lady Danger neural test commencing in twenty minutes," Tendo's voice crackles through the Shatterdome's PA system. "All personnel report to bay oh-two."

Mako rises from her chair, steeling herself to step outside her safe space. Through the keyhole, she sees Raleigh making a beeline for her door. She skitters back to her desk, anticipating his inevitable knock.

_He'll try to convince me to march up to Sensei's office demanding Chuck's spot—or worse, suit up without his permission. I would never do something without Sensei's approval. Surely he'd know that after we spent so much time together in college._

_Or maybe he forgot._

They'd spent nearly every day together for a year and a half in college, but that was a lifetime ago. Skype calls had been no substitute for face-to-face conversations. And they'd both grown up so much since graduating that they seemed like different people.

But Mako shoots down that idea as soon as it crosses her mind. She'd seen Raleigh's playful grin and competitive spark not two hours ago in the Kwoon. He hadn't hesitated to throw an arm around her before declaring her his co-pilot. He'd always initiated physical affection like that in college, when they were close—closer than two friends probably should be.

Maybe that was his way of saying he wanted them to be best friends again. Deep down, Mako would agree.

Being friends with Raleigh had been almost effortless. A happy side effect of those Drift studies in college. They'd shared music, memories, personal struggles, inside jokes. That is, until their connection faded.

Mako had made friends after Raleigh left—Newt, and Dr. Gottlieb by proxy. Tendo. Chuck, sort of. But it hadn't been the same. Now that Raleigh's at the Shatterdome, though, they have a chance to start over.

But they'd have to rebuild their friendship outside of piloting a jaeger. That morning’s pilot tryouts were probably the closest they'd come to Drifting again. Maybe after Raleigh saves the world with the other jaeger pilots, he and Mako could try recreating their connection in the Kwoon again.

 _But for now_ , she reminds herself, _you have your duties to your crew._

She knows Raleigh is waiting outside her room. It's time to confront him. She would politely refuse his advice, then she’d head to LOCCENT to monitor the Neural Handshake test between him and Chuck. She would collect data, write a report, and tinker with Lady Danger's systems to optimize them for the new pilot pairing.

Like a good soldier, she would swallow her resentment and put on a stoic face.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Mako straightens her jumpsuit and takes a deep breath. But Raleigh isn't the one standing in her doorway. It's Sensei. He bows low, and Mako follows suit.

"May I come in, Mako?" He asks.

Mako nods and opens the door wider. He steps in and gazes around her room, like he's never seen the place before. _Well, he hasn't. Not really_.

Sensei had put as much distance between them as possible when the world started to end. Whether out of grief or duty, Mako can't tell. But here he is, initiating a conversation for the first time in what feels like forever.

A million thoughts rush through Mako’s head: _Maybe I should tell him that Chuck said he would rather pilot Lady Danger with me. Or that I Drifted with Raleigh in college. If he wants proof, I can tell him Tendo and Newt oversaw our Drift—_

"A long time ago," he mutters, "I made you a promise."

Mako stares slack-jawed as he pulls a faded red shoe from his pocket, along with a soot-covered photo set in a plain wooden frame. The subjects, a man and a little girl, stand in front of a swordsmith's forge. The man's hand covers the little girl's as she hammers a red-hot blade on an anvil.

_That's me and Dad… but where did he get this photo? And how? I thought everything was lost in that fire..._

Sensei apparently senses her flurry of questions. “You were so young when you went to live with your guardians in Alaska. They kept these safe for when you grew up. I’ve been holding onto them since you joined our family.”

Mako places the little shoe on her shelf and turns reverently to the photo. _This is the only photo I have of my father._  She turns so Sensei can’t see her wipe tears away. A hand squeezes her shoulder.

“ _Get ready_ ,” Sensei says.

* * *

Mako's still staring at the space Sensei vacated when she comes to her senses a minute later. Her stomach is in knots, and her heart is racing.

_I’m finally going to be a pilot. This is everything I’ve ever worked for. And I'll get to Drift with Raleigh again—but it's been so long since our last Drift, and so much has happened. If it's anything like our first Drift together…_

She’s shaking as she pulls out a gray standard-issue PPDC T-shirt and pair of jeans. _I need a distraction_. Thumbing through her playlists, she finds a song by an old favorite, Pizzicato Five. Kind of corny, kind of sweet, and kind of helpful. The upbeat melody blares through her earbuds as she stalks to Lady Danger's Drivesuit Room.

Raleigh isn't there when she arrives. _He's already in the Conn-Pod, then._ She takes deep breaths as her fellow J-Techs strap her into the sleek black drivesuit—one she'd ordered for herself, just in case. Her persistence is finally paying off.

The J-Techs flash reassuring and elated smiles at her. A couple pat her on the shoulder. Mako hopes her brave face isn't splintering under stress. Her stomach does a somersault as she steps through the doorway and into the Conn-Pod.

Lady Danger's AI welcomes her first. “Two pilots on board.”

“I’ll take this side if you don’t mind,” Raleigh calls from inside the rig. “My left arm’s kinda shot.”

She takes a final shaky breath. “Sure,” Mako answers as evenly as she can.

Raleigh whirls around. His stoic gaze melts into a cute puppy-dog grin. Despite everything she'd been feeling since facing him on the helipad on Wednesday, Mako can't help but return the smile.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” She asks.

“No point. In a few minutes, you’ll be in my head again.” He looks her over. “You look good.”

Mako keeps smiling despite her churning stomach, and she straps into the rig with shaky hands. _This is it. You're one step closer to piloting Lady Danger. But you’re going to be in Raleigh’s head again—brace yourself._

The drop—the Conn-Pod hatch lowering with a _hiss_ —startles her. _The simulator doesn’t do that._

"We're not in the simulator now, Mako," Raleigh says, as if reading her mind. "Remember, don't chase the RABIT—Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers. Memories."

She exhales slowly. _You’ve got this, Mako._

"Just let 'em flow. Don't latch on."

 _Like that time in college_ , she thinks. She shakes the memory out of her mind. _No, it’ll be different this time. I know what I’m getting into._

Just then the Conn-Pod lights up. So does Mako. Of course she'd seen the heads-up displays while restoring Lady Danger. But seeing it all from the pilot's seat is an entirely different experience. It’s thrilling.

Tendo's voice pulls her out of her reverie. "Okay, Lady, lining up nicely,” he says through the comm.

In the background, Mako can hear a flurry of activity. Voices, concerned and rushed. She only picks up fragments of the conversation: "... garbage … Drift … kaiju."

She glances at Raleigh and quirks her eyebrow, hoping he could shed light on it. He just shrugs.

Tendo cuts in a few seconds later, but he says nothing about what just happened. "Rangers, all we're looking for today is a Neural Handshake and some baby steps. No pressure."

Mako and Raleigh exchange a look.

 _We're going to Drift again after four years and deep personal tragedies_ , Mako muses. _No pressure, sure_.

"Ready?" Tendo asks.

Raleigh looks to Mako. She nods. "We're ready," he replies.

"Initiating Neural Handshake in ten, nine, eight…"

 _Don't let this be another first Drift_ , Mako reminds herself. _Remember to breathe. Remember to focus_.

"Stay in the Drift," she hears Raleigh mutter. "The Drift is silence."

"Two, one... "

"Neural Handshake initiating," Lady Danger's AI says. And Mako is sucked down into the whirlpool again for the first time in five years.

* * *

Mako is five years old standing in her father's forge. _Fold the steel Mako_. The fire makes her father's face glow. _When you have folded it sixteen times and forge-welded it another sixteen times it becomes a blade._

Now she's eight and the ground shakes under her feet. _Was that an earthquake I never felt an earthquake here before!_

And then she's in Raleigh's head, his childhood ambitions overlapping with hers. _When I grow up I wanna be Spike Spiegel Neil Armstrong Winston Churchill Towa Tei Paul McCartney a Sasuke champion—_

 _Mom_. Raleigh's voice. Mako smells stale cigarette smoke and hears machines beeping.

 _Dad_. She stares at her father's pale face as her mother helps him from the car.

Smoke wafts through her mind. _Red shoes one of my laces broke Mom Dad—_

_Raleigh listen to me—_

_Yancy where are you?_

Mako squeezes her eyes shut and conjures up Aretha Franklin: _Baby here I am by the railroad track—_

With a jolt, she feels her mind slam back into her body. _Like falling in a nightmare_ , she thinks, clenching her jaw.

"Yeah," Raleigh answers aloud. "They don't tell you about that at the Academy."

_They don't tell you a lot at the Academy._

Raleigh chuckles. "You ready?"

Mako nods.

Together, they move their right arms ("right hemisphere calibrated," Lady Danger's AI confirms), then their left ("left hemisphere calibrated"). Lady Danger mimics them and assumes a fighter's stance ("ready to activate the jaeger").

"Neural Handshake strong and steady," Tendo narrates over the comm.

"Can you feel it?" Raleigh says. "The jaeger's an extension of yourself."

She nods through the Drift and feels Raleigh smile a split-second later. _Everything moves so fast in here—faster than our Drifts in college. It's disorienting._

"Better tech," Raleigh explains. "If it helps, call out your moves. You might feel more focused."

"Okay." She's momentarily distracted by a rush of memories: a montage of the Beckets fighting in Jaeger Academy simulations, sparring in the Kwoon, donning matching leather jackets, swapping dog tags before missions. Glimpses of Chuck surface but quickly vanish in the flood.

 _Lady Danger belongs to Raleigh and Yancy Becket_ —"no, I didn't mean that," Raleigh corrects himself, glancing over at Mako.

A half-formed thought surfaces, but Raleigh's guilt washes it out of Mako's mind.

"What I had with Yancy is gone, and I have to learn that," he mutters. Mako can't tell if he's talking to himself or to her. Either way, they share more than memories now. "Mako, you've got a history you need to learn to let go of, too. I haven't seen all of it, but I've got a feeling I'm about to."

 _A lot has changed in five years_ , she replies through the Drift.

"One step at a time, Lady Danger," Tendo calls over the comm, jolting them out of their conversation. "You know the drill."

They nod in unison. Together, they take a step. _The boots are heavier than in the simulator_ , Mako thinks. Then, they take another. Then a third. _We're doing it._

Raleigh turns in his rig to smile at her. And that's when reality dissolves around them.

The slate-gray interior ignites with red and orange warning lights. Alarms are blaring. The air pressurization systems are hissing. Mako's ears pop, and she feels an unearthly warm breeze worm its way through her drivesuit. Somehow, she sees Raleigh from the right side of the rig, sees his terrified expression as gigantic claws rake through the Conn-Pod above her.

_LOCCENT we're hit—the hull it went through the hull—Raleigh listen to me—_

She watches in horror from Raleigh's perspective now as those claws yank Yancy out of the Conn-Pod. His scream echoes in the Drift until it's snuffed out. Her lungs deflate. She gasps, trying to catch her breath—and that's when she smells smoke and sulfur.

"Lady, Lady, you're out of alignment!" Tendo yells, his voice growing fainter with every word.

The world fades to black, and Mako is five years old in Tokyo again.

* * *

_Beeeeeep beeeeeep beeeeeep!_

_Just five more minutes Mom._

_Beeeeeep beeeeeep beeeeeep!_

_Please it's so early..._

_Mako honey get up and get on your shoes—_

_Mom what's happening?_

_Do you remember the fire escape game we played?_

_Yes but—_

_It's okay Mako just put on your shoes._

Mako grabs her favorite red shoes by her door. Her mother drapes her winter coat over her shoulders. The beeping hasn't stopped. Darkness creeps into her room. She coughs. Her eyes hurt.

_Thick black smoke I can't breathe can't see someone's screaming—_

Behind her, she hears her window open. Something rolls down the side of the building.

_Mako climb down the ladder and meet us across the street I need to help your father._

_Mom?_

_It's okay honey we're right behind you._

Mako crawls backward through her window. Her mother's warm hands steady her. She takes the first step down, grasps the railing, takes another step. The smoke follows her.

_That's it honey keep going._

_Mom I'm scared there's so much smoke I can't breathe—_

_I know honey but it'll be okay I love you and we'll see you downstairs._

Mako takes another step and looks down. _I'm so high up._ She takes a deep breath and coughs. She looks up. The black cloud is billowing out of her bedroom window. She climbs down faster.

The alley is dark. She can still smell the smoke. Out in the street, her neighbors are huddling together and looking up at the sky. She's halfway down the alley when her shoe catches on something sticky. Her left foot comes free.

_Wait my shoe—_

She tugs hard on the lace. It snaps. But her shoe is still stuck.

 _Little Mako get out of there it's not safe!_ It's her neighbor, Mrs. Kim.

Mako looks both ways before crossing. No cars. She runs to Mrs. Kim's side and bows.

_My red shoe I don't want to leave it behind—_

_It's okay little Mako we can get it later._ The woman clutches Mako's shoulders and guides her up the street.

 _She's squeezing me too tight,_ Mako thinks.

 _Mako!_ A man's voice, American, one she knows but doesn't know why. _Listen to me—_

Shattering glass and screams distract her. She wriggles out of Mrs. Kim's grasp and bolts around the corner. Back toward her family's apartment building.

_Little Mako wait!_

The building is on fire. People are pouring out of the front door. Some have scarves wrapped around their mouths and noses. Others are half-dressed, still in their slippers. Neighbors are throwing water into the broken windows on the first floor.

She sees the neighbors that live across the hall from her. They're standing back against the garden walls. But Mako doesn't see her parents.

_Mom dad where are you?_

_Mako, this is just a memory—_

She darts toward the building. _Mom dad mom dad mom dad I can't see them where are they?_

_Little Mako!_

_None of this is real—_

_Someone stop her!_

Mako is yanked off her feet just steps from the door. She shrieks. _No I can't find mom and dad let me go!_

The stranger doesn't let her go. He carries her back into Mrs. Kim's awaiting arms. Mako fumes and whirls around to face the stranger. He doesn't look like a neighbor. But somehow she recognizes him.

He bows to Mrs. Kim. He still towers over her.

 _Stay_ , he tells Mako. His accent sounds funny.

Mako thinks up the meanest word she knows—but he turns away before she can open her mouth. And he runs into the burning building.

A minute passes. Flames burn through the roof.

Another minute. Mako hears sirens—fire trucks.

Another minute. Crunching sounds come from inside the building. Seconds later, the roof caves in. _We live on the third floor mom dad where are you are you okay—_

The roof crashes through the upper floors. Mako screams. She reaches for the ruins, struggling in Mrs. Kim's arms.

_Weapons systems engaged. Plasma cannon powering up._

_Mako!_

The building collapses. Dust and smoke go everywhere. Mrs. Kim turns around, throwing herself on top of Mako. Wood splinters fly by. A few snag Mako's pajamas.

_Fully charged._

Sirens are wailing. People are shouting. Mako covers her ears and screams and screams and screams.

_Mako, listen to me! This is just a memory. None of it is real!_

_Little Mako it's okay I've got you…_

Footsteps. Slow and heavy. They stop in front of Mako. Mrs. Kim straightens, and Mako looks up.

It's the stranger. He's carrying her red shoe. His skin looks even blacker under all the soot.

The stranger crouches on the ground and points to her left foot. Mako sticks it out, holding Mrs. Kim's hand. He slips it over her stocking. The lace is still broken.

_Weapons systems disengaged._

Mako sniffles. It's quiet now. Snow is starting to fall. _It's October it's not cold enough for snow._

_Oh little Mako it's ash the fire is out now._

Mako looks to the stranger. _Mom and dad?_

The stranger doesn't say a word.

The neighborhood dissolves around her, and Mako feels like she's falling. She feels pressure around her shoulders and on her feet. Not Mrs. Kim's arms or her little red shoes. The rig inside a jaeger Conn-Pod. Lady Danger's.

 _Mako, please be okay_. She hears a voice in her head and feels a hand on her shoulder. Raleigh's. "Hey, look, I've got you."

He helps her out of the rig, and she sags to the floor. Her mind is buzzing with memories, some hers, some Raleigh's. The sound of sirens, crackling timbers, and Lady Danger's AI voice fight for control of her consciousness.

 _Sensei will never let me be a pilot_ , she thinks, gritting her teeth. A wave of reassurance washes over her, but it's not enough to wash away the tide of failure.

"You're going to be okay," Raleigh murmurs.

She focuses on his voice, willing the din to die down. Her ears are still ringing, and she presses her palms against them to drown out the ghosts in her head. Curling her knees to her chest, she makes herself as small as possible inside the cramped Conn-Pod. Raleigh throws an arm around her shoulder, not saying a word.

They sit like that for ten minutes inside the dark and silent Conn-Pod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaand we're back to a regular posting schedule! Buckle your seat belts because the stakes are going to get higher and higher from here on out.
> 
> Like with the last few chapters, I relied on the first Pacific Rim film and official novel for these scenes. (Making necessary tweaks, of course—you might notice that Mako's RABIT chase looks a little different than in the movie.)
> 
> Continuing off my previous chapter notes, now that you know the full story: Pentecost came to Mako after failing to convince Chuck to be Raleigh's co-pilot. She was always his second choice; despite his warnings about how much emotion she'd bring into the Drift, Pentecost knew that she would be a good fit.
> 
> Here are a few more not-canon-compliant things you should know that I couldn’t fit in this story:
> 
> \- Like he did with Raleigh, Pentecost kept an eye on Mako through people he knew (like the friends he visited in Tokyo the night of the apartment fire).  
> \- Mako's guardians were distant cousins who were her grandfather/mother figures. They retired to Alaska and passed away when Mako was 10. Pentecost adopted Mako soon after.  
> \- Mako's parents died in October 2005. Pentecost was a few months shy of 27 and newly married. Jake would be born just six months later in May 2006. Pentecost never vocalized his promise to Mako, but he swore to himself after saving her from the burning building that he would make sure she always had a home.
> 
> Also, I've been including nods to Pacific Rim Uprising throughout part three. This chapter is no different—that spiky ball and chain on Mako's desk is a prototype of Titan Redeemer's Morning Star hand.
> 
> I'll be posting the next chapter next weekend. As always, thank you for keeping up with this story!


	4. How Hard Could It Be to Change Pentecost's Mind?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "Hated (Acoustic Version)" by Beartooth  
> \- "3xxxv5" by One OK Rock  
> \- "The Great Invitation" by Pizzicato Five and Arichika Masumi  
> \- "25 or 6 to 4" by Chicago  
> \- "Change" by One OK Rock  
> \- "Lady Soul" by The Temptations  
> \- "Hells Bells" by AC/DC

**FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2025**  
**STACKER PENTECOST'S OFFICE**

 

"This is ridiculous!" Chuck shouts, his voice muffled behind Pentecost's door. "They're putting our lives at risk—and our whole mission—against an enemy that's already kicking our ass."

 _Mako shouldn't be hearing this_ , Raleigh thinks, pacing up and down the hallway. He glances over at her. She's ramrod straight, fists clenched behind her back, eyes glued to the wall in front of her. He hears her thoughts tumbling around her mind. They're as loud, if not louder, than his own. He'd forgotten just how strong a Ghost Drift could be.

 _Chuck has a point_ , she answers him. _If Tendo hadn't cut the power in time—_

_You can't afford to think like that._

"You think I want them on my wing on my bomb run?" Chuck continues. "She's a rookie. He's a has-been—and he went out of phase first!"

Raleigh's intrusive thoughts trickle into Mako's mind: _Yancy I got him killed I don't deserve to be—_

 _You can't afford to think like that, either_ , she replies.

Raleigh clenches his jaw and resumes pacing.

Herc, the voice of reason, tries to steer the conversation. "We all know what happened—"

"We can't afford mistakes," Chuck interrupts. "And that includes pilots. He doesn't deserve to ride Lady Danger."

Raleigh and Mako both stiffen as the door opens with a _clank_. Chuck storms out, and he looks livid.

"You need to watch your tone, Mr. Hansen," Pentecost calls after him. Herc follows on his son's heels.

Raleigh joins Mako in staring straight ahead. The last thing Chuck needs is an excuse to start a fight. They're already in trouble; decking the guy, even if he does deserve it, would only make things worse.

"Alright, stay there," Herc barks at his son. "Gimme a moment." And he shuts the door behind him.

There's a ferocious glint in Chuck's eye as he stares them down. It's at times like these that Raleigh is grateful for the Ghost Drift. _Brace yourself, Mako_ , he warns her.

Chuck rounds on Raleigh. "You're a disgrace to the Jaeger Program. You're gonna get us all killed and here's the thing _Rah-leigh_ : I wanna come back from this mission… because I quite like my life."

Mako gets another glimpse into Raleigh's memories: _It's 2 a.m. Chuck's passed out I'll just let him sleep he'll hear all about Knifehead after me and Yance get back…_

She bristles when Chuck flicks Raleigh in the chest.

"Why don't you do us all a favor and disappear? It's the only thing you're good at—"

"Stop," she says through gritted teeth before Raleigh has time to react. To torture himself with more guilt. "Now."

 _Mako, don't_. Raleigh sticks out his hand to stop her from throwing a punch. He doesn't doubt she can take Chuck down. But Raleigh's not about to lose his co-pilot in a fistfight, especially with a guy who riles people up as easily as breathing. _He's not worth it._

"Yeah, that's right." Chuck grimaces. "Just hold back your little girlfriend. One of you needs a leash."

 _That's it_. Raleigh punches Chuck in the face. The attack takes the guy by surprise; Chuck stumbles backward. Raleigh follows up with a swift left hook.

But Chuck doesn't stay stunned long. He throws a punch, too, and he blocks Raleigh's next blow easily. Raleigh responds by sweeping his leg out from under him. Chuck lands on his knee, and Raleigh's right hook makes him spit up blood.

Mako hears excited whispers behind her. _We've got an audience,_ she tells Raleigh.

 _Then let's make sure he's learned his lesson_. "Apologize to her," Raleigh says, stepping back and rolling out his left shoulder.

_Raleigh, let me—_

_No, Mako, you're in enough trouble as it is. Let me take the fall for this one._

"Screw you," Chuck says, winding up for a powerful right hook.

Raleigh ducks. Chuck's arm whizzes inches above his head, and Raleigh lands a left hook against his ribs. When Chuck keeps coming at him, Raleigh attempts to end the fight by slamming him against the concrete wall. 

All that does is make Chuck angrier. He pushes Raleigh back, ramming him into the opposite wall. 

Mako feels the air rush out Raleigh as if she were on the receiving end of Chuck's punches. Reflexively, she sticks her fists up, bracing herself for another hit. She notices Raleigh does the same. Now that she’s experiencing the Ghost Drift firsthand, she understands a little better how co-pilots communicate without speaking. But it’s still spooky.

It's not long before Raleigh takes the upper hand in the fight, throwing Chuck against a pipe snaking down the hallway. Steam hisses out, and Chuck bares his teeth. He's gripping his shoulder; Raleigh must've popped it out of socket.

Raleigh steps back, relaxing his arms but keeping his fists clenched. "I said, apologize to her."

Chuck charges. But he's flailing now, throwing out his fists hoping he'll hit something solid. _Predictable_ , Raleigh thinks. _Just like what I used to do before I learned how to fight. Time to end this._

The next time Chuck throws a jab, Raleigh seizes his good arm and twists it underneath him, rolling to the ground and pulling Chuck to the floor. Chuck winds up face-first on the concrete, moaning in pain as Raleigh threatens to dislocate his shoulder. 

The move takes Mako by surprise. _Sensei taught me that_ , she thinks. _So how did Raleigh—?_

"Enough!" Herc's voice booms across the hallway. "What's going on?" 

Raleigh and Chuck look up. Mako puts down her fists. Pentecost strides out of his office silently, taking in the scene without letting his impassive facade slip.

Herc does the shouting for him. "On your feet, both of ya!"

Raleigh scrambles to his feet. Chuck does, too. After a cursory glance at the aftermath of the scrap—bloody faces, clenched jaws, and death glares—Pentecost hangs his head and sighs. 

"Becket, Mori, into my office—now."

Chuck barrels toward Raleigh. "No, we're not done—"

"Hey!" Herc stops his son in his tracks. "This is over! You're a Ranger—start acting like one."

Raleigh and Mako glance at each other as they slink into Pentecost's office and into the two wooden chairs by his desk. The reflecting pool in the center of the room does nothing to calm either of them down. Waves of anxiety pass between them in the Ghost Drift.

As soon as Pentecost enters, Raleigh pipes up. "I went out of phase first. It was my mistake."

_Raleigh, don't—_

_Mako, you belong in Lady Danger. I'm not letting him ground you before you even take off._

_You don't have to keep standing up for me—_

"No." Pentecost halts on the slate bridge over the reflecting pool.

His clipped tone reverberates more with Mako than Raleigh. A lump rises in her throat. The floor slides out from under her. Things were just starting to turn around—would one mistake obliterate everything she'd worked toward?

"It was my mistake," Pentecost says softly, turning to face them. "I never should have let you two in the same machine."

Raleigh grits his teeth. _Then he knows we Drifted in college_. "So you're grounding us?"

"Not you."

Raleigh's heart breaks when he sees Mako stand, her eyes glistening with tears. 

"Permission to be dismissed, sir?" She murmurs.

Pentecost sighs. A hint of a frown crosses his face, but his stoic gaze replaces it immediately. "Permission granted, Miss Mori."

She bows and retreats through the open doorway. She doesn't even look back as Raleigh shouts her name. 

"Sir, what are you doing?" Raleigh feels Mako's frustration, sadness, and resentment like they're his own, and it's all he can do to keep his voice down. "She has the strongest Neural Handshake I've ever felt. Even stronger… even stronger than Yancy."

Pentecost says nothing.

 _You and I both know Mako has a clear connection to that jaeger_. "What other options do we have, huh?" He launches out of his seat and struts over to Pentecost, who still hasn't moved from above the reflecting pool. "Tell me!"

"Do no let my calm demeanor fool you Ranger," Pentecost snaps. "Now is not a good moment for your insubordination." He turns to face Raleigh. "Mako is too inexperienced to rein in her memories during combat."

 _That's a B.S. excuse, and you know it—and I'm not letting you walk away from me, too_. Raleigh chases after Pentecost as he stalks down the hallway. "That's not why you grounded her. I was in her memories. I saw everything."

"I don't care what you think you saw," Pentecost calls over his shoulder. He keeps walking.

Raleigh jogs to catch up. "I know what she means to you—"

"This conversation is over." Pentecost stops at the end of the hallway and presses the elevator call button.

"Marshal, can we just talk about this for one second? Hey!" He figures challenging the man in charge is not a great way to argue his point. But he breaks every PPDC protocol ever written by yanking Pentecost's left arm. The Marshal whirls around, fury in his eyes.

Yancy's ghost picks a great time to chime in. _Bad move, Raleigh. Make you peace now._

"You rescued her," Raleigh continues, "you raised her. You're not protecting her now. You're holding her back."

Pentecost steps toward Raleigh. "One, don't you ever touch me again. Two, don't you ever touch me again."

Somehow, Pentecost's steely gaze feels worse than his verbal reprimand. Raleigh shifts on his feet but refuses to break eye contact.

"Now," Pentecost continues, "you have no idea who the hell I am or where I've come from. But I'm not about to tell you my whole life's story. All I need to be to you and everyone in this 'Dome is a fixed point. The last man standing."

Raleigh looks away. The elevator doors slide open.

"I do not need your sympathy or your admiration. All I need is your compliance and your fighting skills. And if I can't get that, then you can go back to the Wall I found you crawling on. Do I make myself clear?"

Raleigh nods.

Pentecost taps his ear. Challenging him.

But Raleigh's a good soldier at the end of the day, so he mutters "yes, sir" under his breath.

"Good." And Pentecost steps into the awaiting elevator.

Raleigh needs to go downstairs, too. But he can wait. He doesn't feel like starting a fight he can't win.

* * *

Considering Lady Danger's pilots almost blew a hole in the Shatterdome that morning, it's a miracle Raleigh and Mako are only facing collective shunning. It doesn't mean it hurts any less.

Raleigh feels the glares and hears the whispers around him as he stands in line for his food in the mess hall. No one beckons to him as he looks around for an empty seat.

Striker Eureka's table is half-empty. But after nearly breaking both of Chuck's arms that afternoon, he wouldn't dare sit at that table again. Unfortunately, the Lady Danger table doesn't look any more inviting. The J-Techs sitting there look away when he makes eye contact. 

A navy-blue figure at the end of the mess hall catches his eye. _I can deal with you guys staring me down_. _Mako doesn't deserve this_. 

Raleigh saunters up to her. She, too, has a tray in hand and a lonely look on her face. "Let's get out of here," he mutters.

 _I thought you'd never ask_. She leads him out of the mess hall and down the labyrinth of hallways.

Raleigh stops her when she turns toward Bay 02, Lady Danger's. "I don't think that's a good idea."

She answers by raising an eyebrow. _Where, then?_

He nods his head toward the edge of the Shatterdome.

A rush of frigid air almost drives them back as Mako opens the door to the shuttered jaeger bays. But they can't resist the siren's call of solitude.

 _Being friends with a J-Tech has its perks_ , Raleigh thinks. _She can get us in anywhere_. He turns immediately to the first jaeger bay down the deserted hallway.

Bay 08.

He takes a slow, shaky breath. Then, he steps inside.

Lady Danger's old bay looks heartbreakingly empty. He'd expected it to be vacant—no more J-Techs scraping kaiju guts out of Lady Danger's knuckles, and no strike group personnel playing fetch with Max. There aren't any of the old WWII bomber posters on the walls. Chuck's vintage stereo isn't blasting AC/DC in their quarters. Tendo's laugh isn't echoing around the bay at a classic dad joke.

Mako senses Raleigh's turmoil. "We can find somewhere else—"

"No, it's okay." Raleigh moves his feet mechanically across the floor, up the stairs, onto the mezzanine. He plops down on the edge of the landing, kicking his feet over the side and setting his tray beside him. Mako follows suit. 

They eat most of their meal in silence.

 _This is just like that time sophomore year when we didn't talk to each other for a month_ , Mako thinks, frowning.

"I heard that."

Mako's face flushes despite the cold. "Sorry," she says aloud. "It's been a while since…"

"Since we were in each other's heads?" Raleigh chuckles. "Yeah, no kidding. Last time we Drifted was December 10, 2019, if I remember right."

"Five years, twenty-four days," Mako mutters.

"You've been counting?" Raleigh asks, incredulous.

A sunny memory floats to the surface: A cloudless May day, the lingering smell of char-grilled burgers on their clothes, and a warm breeze carrying the promise of summer.

Mako smirks. "Simple math."

As she taps her temple, Raleigh bursts out laughing. Mako joins in. The sound reverberates in the empty jaeger bay, filling the cold space with just a little bit of life. 

_I haven't done that in a long time_ , Raleigh thinks, wiping tears out of his eyes. It's clear from Mako's blissful expression that she hasn't, either. It's nice seeing her laugh again. Especially when her smile melts into a frown seconds later.

Silence soon settles between them. Raleigh feels cold, though it's not entirely the jaeger bay's fault. He glances at Mako out of the corner of his eye. She's leaning on the bottom rung of the mezzanine railing, her chin propped on her hands and her half-empty tray forgotten. Her blue hair looks even brighter against the peeling yellow paint.

He senses a flood of thoughts, not all of them sentimental, swirling around her mind. Raleigh distracts himself by gnawing on a garlic knot— _it's nice to have bread again._

A coherent thought breaks the surface within the Ghost Drift, but Mako voices it anyway: "What happened between us?" Her breath comes out like white smoke in the frigid jaeger bay.

This is what Raleigh had been dreading since meeting Mako on the tarmac. The accusations, the disappointment, the hurt. She had been his best friend in college—more than that, if he was being honest with himself—and he'd taken her for granted. Grief had consumed him, and now he was paying the price.

More than once, he'd lost sleep wishing he could get a re-do on the last five years.

The apology he'd been preparing since Wednesday doesn't come to mind. It's probably better this way—it's more authentic if it comes from the heart in the moment. He leans back on his hands and sighs. Mako doesn't turn around.

"When Yancy… was taken," he begins, "we were still connected. I felt his fear, his helplessness… and then he was gone."

"I know," Mako says softly. "I felt it. Not just during our Drift but... " She waits a minute before speaking again. Her voice shakes just the tiniest bit. "The night it happened, I… I thought I was having a nightmare. But I was seeing it through our connection. I always suspected but never knew for sure until…"

"Until I chased the RABIT."

They both sink into memories of that awful day in February: _Blue eyes red sky dark alien world claws ripping the Conn-Pod to pieces Raleigh listen to me—_

"That was the day of the world robotics championship finals," Mako murmurs. "I was so distracted that we lost."

Raleigh stiffens. "Is that why you've been holding a grudge against me for four years?"

Mako shakes her head slowly. "You disappeared. I tried reaching out to you but…"

_Skype. I never checked Skype._

"You were my best friend," she whispers. Raleigh has to lean in to catch her next words: "And I didn't know if… what happened to you."

Hearing her so close to tears again hurts worse than if she were screaming in his face. Raleigh clings to the middle rung like it's the only thing keeping him anchored in the present. It is, in a way. Although he's just a few inches away from Mako, he can't meet her eyes. Instead, he stares at the dusty concrete floor below.

"Yancy was my whole world. My only family. When you Drift with someone for so long, the hardest part to deal with is the silence." He exhales, watching his breath curl in white tendrils in the darkness.

"You say that like we've never Drifted before." Mako pulls her knees up to her chest. _Like I haven't lost family before._

Her memories float to the surface: _The building is burning our home is burning—mom dad I can't see them where are they—little Mako someone stop her—_

Ever since stumbling upon the makeshift memorial in Tokyo, she'd poured all of her time and energy into her work: perfecting Demon Slayer, restoring Lady Danger, tinkering with Bracer Phoenix. But she'd truly been chasing distractions since Knifehead. That's when the loneliness had become a gaping maw.

Raleigh's face twists into a grimace as he follows Mako's train of thought. In his experience, some things could be kept secret even within the Ghost Drift, but not the strongest emotions. And Mako's mind is brimming with them.

"I'm sorry, Mako," he mutters. "I had been so distracted after Yancy that it never occurred to me to call you, to see how you were doing. Especially after you found out about your family.” He sighs. “I shouldn't have vanished for four years—"

"No." She turns. Raleigh does, too, and he meets her eyes for the first time in two days. "I'm sorry. I knew you were struggling after what happened with Yancy but… but I never realized just how bad it got."

Silence settles between them again, but only for a moment. 

"Ever since Yancy... " Raleigh stops. Considers his words. "It's been hard to connect with people. I've forgotten what it's like not to have someone in my head all the time."

Mako nods in agreement. 

"I'm convinced the Drift is built on more than mutual understanding. And today… today the Drift was strong."

Mako sits back against the corner railing and studies him for a minute. "How about we start over?" She extends a hand. "Hi, my name is Mako Mori."

Raleigh smirks and shakes it. "Raleigh Becket. Nice to meet you, Mako." Something from their Drift comes to his mind. "Hey, you still listen to J-pop, right?"

She nods.

"When we were Drifting, I heard a song…"

Mako smiles and pulls out her phone. Her earbuds are wrapped neatly around it and secured with a little rubber band. She hands him one as she pulls up her Spotify playlist.

"Shibuya pop," she explains, tapping on her screen. She puts in one earbud, and Raleigh follows suit. Gentle synthesizers and a jazzy melody introduce the Japanese singers.

"You've got good taste."

"Thank you. I discovered this group in middle school. This song brings back good memories."

"We both need that now, don't we?" He listens contentedly, tapping his feet against the mezzanine in time with the beat. It's a long song—almost five minutes. It's a welcome distraction from the cold, the upcoming mission, their failure during pilot tryouts, everything.

As the song dies away, Raleigh realizes something. "I haven't listened to music since…"

Mako nods knowingly. "What do you want to hear first?"

"May I?" He takes her phone and searches for an equally cheery song from his childhood. Mako leaves her perch against the railing and scoots next to him. Now it doesn't feel as cold in the abandoned jaeger bay.

The soft electric guitar lead for Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" floats through their minds. "Rock-jazz group," Raleigh explains. "So your first impression of me in college was right—I do like some classic rock." He winks; Mako smirks and shakes her head.

"You've got good taste, too," she says. When the final trumpet notes dissipate, Mako takes back her phone and selects another of her favorite songs.

"I like this beat," Raleigh says, bobbing his head to the music. "What's the song?"

"'Change' by One OK Rock."

Both fall silent as the lyrics wash over them. They glance at each other as the singer finishes the first verse: "We need to work this out… can't do this by myself… how did we let it go this far?"

Raleigh answers Mako's unspoken question. "We'll convince Pentecost that you belong in that jaeger."

She sighs and brings her knees to her chest. "If you say so."

Raleigh wants to hug her, tell her it'll work out. Instead, he queues up another song.

"The Temptations?" Mako asks when she hears the first few notes.

"You know this song? I didn't think I put it on your playlist."

"No, but… I listened to a lot of their songs during my study breaks back in college."

"My music taste rubbed off on you, huh?" Raleigh teases, elbowing her.

"Hush." But she doesn't try to hide her grin.

"We used to sing this song after coming back from missions," Raleigh says, gazing around the vacant jaeger bay. "Annoyed the hell out of Chuck. I think that's why we kept doing it."

Mako follows Raleigh as he sinks back into his memories: _'Cause you are my my my MY LADY SOUL you warm my heart WHEN I GROW COLD—c'mon Chuck sing it with us!—the hell I will Becket—_

 _Listening to music is one of the best ways to connect with someone outside the Drift_ , Raleigh muses.

Mako latches onto that wistful thought. It makes up for the next one, less pleasant, that occurs to him. As the song ends, she takes back her earbuds and tucks her phone into her pocket. Raleigh might not have asked her to give him space, but she could sense as much through the Ghost Drift.

"I'll take the trays back," she says, standing. 

Raleigh nods, steeling himself to venture back to his old quarters.

Mako lays a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I won't be gone long."

As she treks out of Lady Danger's old bay, she hears music blaring from the end of the hallway. Classic rock, from the sound of it. Glancing left and right, she tiptoes down the hallway to follow the sound. 

It's coming from Bay 20—Striker Eureka's old jaeger bay. Mako peeks her head in and finds Chuck sitting in the middle of the floor, absently scratching behind Max's ears. A radio sits at his feet blaring harsh guitar riffs and what sound like bell peals into empty space.

"What do you think about that, huh, Max?" Chuck tells his bulldog. Even over the screech-singing, Mako can still hear Chuck's voice loud and clear. She creeps closer, curiosity getting the better of her. 

"I'm the only chance we've got to deliver that bomb," he continues. "We both know Mako is an okay pilot, but she's not cut out for this mission. I'm also stuck with two prison guards, the basketball triplets, and the washout. And we can't forget about dead-weight dad, can we?"

Max whines, and Mako freezes. Her arms tremble as she tries to keep both cafeteria trays from clattering to the floor. 

"Don't give me that, Max. It's not like Dad really brought me up, anyway. After Mum died… well, I spent more time with you and this radio than I did with him, didn't I?"

Max lays his head against Chuck's leg. He snuffles apologetically.

Chuck huffs. "He let Mum die. He could've let me swim to safety myself, but he didn't."

Mako sucks in a breath. _That explains a lot._

The half-eaten food on the trays in Mako's hands must grab Max's attention. He lifts his head up and sniffs the air. Mako swears under her breath and races out of the jaeger bay as quietly as she can. She's not entirely successful.

"That you, Dad?" Chuck calls gruffly over his shoulder. "I told you I'm not listening to another one of your speeches."

Mako practically sprints down the hallway. The last thing she hears before the door slams shut behind her is Chuck's music cranking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, especially because Raleigh and Mako are on the way to being friends again. I made sure to include the book bits that should have been in the movie—like Raleigh and Mako sharing earbuds and Chuck listening to music more than his father. (I'm a little salty that Chuck was made to be a two-dimensional bully in the film, because his backstory in the novel explains his resentment toward Herc. But at least there's fanfiction to right those ill-written wrongs.)
> 
> I've also got a headcanon about why Pentecost reacted the way he did after Raleigh yanked on his arm (other than Charlie Hunnam overacting just a tad). After seeing this Tumblr post [about Pentecost's drivesuit scars](http://harrietvane.tumblr.com/post/74109523602/the-pentecost-character-is-scarred-all-up-the), I figured Pentecost is still pained by those wounds, physically and emotionally. Just like Raleigh. Anyway.
> 
> Up next is this fic's version of the Hong Kong fight, so be sure to stick around!


	5. The Odds Aren't in Our Favor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "Mess Is Mine" by Vance Joy  
> \- "Best Boy Friend" by Chanmina  
> \- "Crush" by Tessa Violet  
> \- "Double Event" by Ramin Djawadi  
> \- "Unbreakable" by Psyko Punkz, DJ Isaac, and Sound Rush  
> \- "Pacific Rim" by Ramin Djawadi and Tom Morello  
> \- "Never Surrender" by Devin Wild and Psyko Punkz

**TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2025**  
**THE SHATTERDOME, PACIFIC RIM NATIONAL PARK RESERVE**

 

Starting over had been one of the best decisions Raleigh and Mako had ever made. They didn’t have to mention how badly they'd missed the other’s company since college—the Ghost Drift took care of that.

Mostly.

There were some things that they couldn't pick up on without Drifting—stuff that was buried too deeply under personal tragedy, apprehension, or sheer fear of the world ending. Still, it was nice confiding in a friend again, even though they had four years of history to catch up on. They couldn't call themselves best friends, not yet, but whatever they had was better than before. Emotional baggage and all.

It hadn't taken long for them to pick up where they'd left off in college. In fact, just ten minutes after Mako had raced out of Striker Eureka’s old jaeger bay, they put their rekindled friendship to the test.

Mako had come back from the mess hall to find Raleigh slumped against the wall of his old quarters, his brother’s voice echoing in his mind. He'd quickly wiped the tears out of his eyes when Mako peeked her head through the doorway. Instead of giving him privacy—if there was such a thing between Drift partners—she’d sat beside him. A silent sentinel to keep watch while he grieved.

She'd found herself following Raleigh's train of thought, but she'd restrained herself from peering too far into his recent memories. It was weird—she couldn't remember being able to explore them as freely. Their latest Drift must've had something to do with it. Seven was the number of completeness, after all. 

Raleigh had recovered soon enough. They'd walked back to their quarters—shoulder to shoulder, comfortable in each other's company again—and retreated to their separate rooms. As she'd watched Raleigh's door close, Mako felt the loneliness return. Whether hers or Raleigh's, she couldn't tell. Regardless, it kept her up all night.

Unable to sleep in the wee hours of Saturday morning, Mako created a new distraction: a collab Spotify playlist. A few hours later, it had over a hundred songs by old favorites, along with several pop songs released over the past four years. It had been hard to keep up with new music when the world was ending. She and Raleigh had some catching up to do.

"This is awesome!" Raleigh had said over breakfast through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. They'd started the playlist from the beginning—with the old soul songs, as Mako called them. Sinking into the music made it easier to avoid heated glares from the J-Techs working on Lady Danger across the jaeger bay. Dealing with a few angry but familiar faces here was better than facing the wrath of the strangers in the mess hall. Not to mention the ghosts of loved ones and happier times in a now-shuttered jaeger bay.

Mako couldn't stop smiling—she'd forgotten how often Raleigh used to shower her with friendly compliments. And to throw an arm around her shoulders. She was glad her hair hid how red her ears had turned.

Their precious shared moments ended all too quickly. Soon it was back to the routine.

Raleigh's days were highly regimented. Although he was little more than a backup pilot, he had a full schedule: three hours in the Kwoon, four hours of debriefings, an hour for lunch, two hours of Operation Pitfall strategizing, two hours at the gym, another hour for dinner, and three more hours in the Kwoon.

Mako's schedule was packed, too. She still had to prep Lady Danger for Operation Pitfall. She tried not to think about the fact that if she couldn't convince Sensei to let her pilot the jaeger, she would be leaving for Hong Kong in just days. Leaving Raleigh behind.

"We'll figure it out," Raleigh had told her Sunday at lunch. "One way or another."

She'd smiled, but her doubts overwhelmed both of them through the Ghost Drift. The odds weren't looking good.  
  
Their busy schedules left them little time to hang out together, so they looked forward to their overlapping meal times. And to Mako's "accidental" visits to the Kwoon Combat Room.

By Sunday evening, Raleigh's substitute fightmaster, a young but seasoned Ranger named Nate Lambert, had learned better than to pair Raleigh with anyone else. He'd been at Lady Danger's pilot tryouts; he'd seen their Drift Compatibility in action. But ever the traditionalist, he wouldn't say whether he thought they should be co-pilots—at least to them.

"The only reason you're training together," he'd said, "is because you need to learn discipline, Ranger Becket. You've met your match with Ranger Mori."

It was during one of these combat sessions that Raleigh devised a scheme he called "Operation: Convince Pentecost to Let Mako Fly." Mako had rolled her eyes when he'd told her about it, but she was thrilled he was as eager as she was to get her back in the pilot's rig.

Plan A was straightforward: Pentecost would just walk in during one of Raleigh's combat sessions. One where Mako just so happened to be his sparring partner. After all, a round that lasted ten minutes was surely one for the history books—right?

Pentecost never showed. They scrapped Plan A.

A more subtle approach, then. On Monday morning, Raleigh and Mako had begged Tendo, Newt, and Dr. Gottlieb to vouch for them. Tendo and Newt happily agreed; Dr. Gottlieb had huffed and said he wanted "no part in your scheme, thank you very much, however honorable your intentions may be."

Tendo and Newt never got a word in. Plan B had failed, too.

It was Tuesday morning when they devised Plan C: the hail mary. Mako had to be in Hong Kong in three days. It was now or never.

Newt was missing—on a special assignment from Pentecost, apparently. Tendo had their back in spirit, but his J-Tech Chief LOCCENT Officer duties kept him confined to the command center. Dr. Gottlieb had merely _harrumphed_ at their invitation, burying his nose back into his chalkboard calculations.

But Mako's Lady Danger Restoration team members—the ones still working at the Shatterdome, anyway—were eager to pitch in. All Raleigh and Mako needed was a crowd. That wasn’t a problem.

Tuesday evening, they put their plan in action.

* * *

The Kwoon isn’t empty like it normally is during Raleigh and Mako’s sparring sessions. In addition to Ranger Lambert, there are a half-dozen J-Techs milling around the mat and chattering excitedly.

Mako's stomach is churning for a myriad of reasons, so she twiddles with her hanbō to keep her mind occupied. _This plan is reckless. Sensei won't like it._

 _What's the worst that could happen?_ Raleigh smirks at her from across the mat. He's bouncing on the balls of his feet, eager to get going.

Some of her nervousness subsides at seeing Raleigh's puppy-dog grin. Unfamiliar feelings bubble up, but she pushes those aside. That's a problem for another day. _I hope you're right about this. We're running out of time_.

"Here comes the Marshal!" A J-Tech near the hallway shouts. "Fight, fight, fight..."

The other J-Techs join in. As expected, curious onlookers swarm into the Kwoon, following the promise of violence on an otherwise slow day at the Shatterdome.

Raleigh grins. _Ready?_

Mako takes a deep breath and brandishes her hanbō. _Let's do this._

"Hit me with your best shot," he calls, playing his part well.

Mako races forward. Raleigh blocks her overhead attack, and her hanbō bounces off his with a _clack._  He lunges next, but Mako slides out of the way just before he can earn the first point. For good measure, she teases him with a jab to his ribs. 

"One-zero," she says with a sweet smile.

 _Oh, so that's how it's going to be, huh?_ He smirks and lunges again. But she parries his attack gracefully. Raleigh waits for her to recenter before tapping her on the shoulder. "One-one," he says. "Better luck next time."

There’s a competitive spark in her eyes now. But movement over her shoulder catches Raleigh’s eye. Pentecost and Herc are striding into the Kwoon, a reprimand already simmering in their stoic faces. _Things are about to get interesting_ , he thinks. 

That's when Mako attacks. Raleigh steps back in surprise and she whacks him in the ankle.

"Hey!"

 _Sorry, Raleigh!_ "Two-one. Concentrate," she tells him, her mind flickering back to their first match. Raleigh had truly looked like a grizzled war veteran during pilot tryouts, his jaw tight and gaze serious. But he'd had a hint of a smirk on his face when he'd said those words to her—

Raleigh takes advantage of her reflection and strikes. "Two-two," he says. _Now she looks pissed. Well played, Mako._ "You mad, Mori? Use your anger and beat me. Then we'll be tied."

"I'm pretty sure I'm winning, Becket." She looks to Ranger Lambert for confirmation, who just shrugs from the corner of the room. 

Raleigh doesn't waste that opportunity. "Two-three," he says. "One more point and—"

Mako hooks her hanbō around his ankle, sending Raleigh to the floor. "And what? Three-three. Last point decides—"

"Enough," Pentecost calls from across the room. Raleigh and Mako jump to their feet and bow in sync. "Miss Mori, shouldn't you be helping Mr. Choi with final jaeger preparations? And Mr. Becket, you should be studying those offensive strategies we discussed this afternoon."

Mako glances uneasily at Raleigh before addressing Pentecost in Japanese. " _Marshal, I wanted to prove myself one last time_."

" _I know, Mako. I sensed what you were doing when I heard about a fight in the Kwoon_."

Mako blushes straight to her hairline. Raleigh smirks.

"How about it, Marshal?" He asks for the benefit of everyone watching. "We have one point left. What's say we make a bet? I win, Mako's my co-pilot. She wins, she stays grounded."

That got the reaction he'd been hoping for, from the crowd, from Pentecost, and from Mako.

Mako rounds on him, switching back to English. "Do you not want me to be your co-pilot? You know I won't let you win."

"I know," he says, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm leveling the playing field."

"You just want to win, you dirty—"

"Hey, now! No cursing in front of the Marshal." 

Mako looks to Pentecost with a glare that says, _do I have your permission to kick his ass?_ That's how Raleigh interprets it, anyway.

Pentecost nods. Herc mutters something in his ear, and the Marshal replies curtly—but Raleigh can’t make out what he’s saying. Whatever it is, Herc looks pleased with himself.

"You're going to regret this, Raleigh Becket," Mako growls, pulling Raleigh back to the match.

"Prove it." He gets in a defensive stance.

Now they've really drawn a crowd.

Mako lunges, striking overhead again. Raleigh blocks her attack with ease, but before he can get in one of his own, Mako steps around him, aiming her hanbō for his ribs. He blocks her again.

 _What gives?_ He asks, countering another strike. He can hardly form coherent thoughts—there's no way he could speak in full sentences right now. Not for the first time, he’s grateful for the Ghost Drift.

 _I'm not giving up_. Her hanbō _thwacks_ against his. _Even for a stupid bet_.

 _That's admirable_ , Raleigh replies, finding an opportunity to attack. She blocks it effortlessly and practically dances around him. _But you gotta know when to make sacrifices._

She yells and charges. He dives out of the way and rolls into a defensive position. And that’s when he gets an idea.

 _You know, you look cute when you're angry_ , he tells her. And like he expects, Mako falters for just a second. Blush creeps into her cheeks.

Mako never expected Raleigh to flirt with her, much less during a match. She also doesn't expect him to roll forward. Before she can leap out of the way, he snags her ankle with his hanbō and sweeps her feet out from under her. He reaches out at the last second, slowing her fall so she lands gently on the mat.

Panting, Raleigh leans against his hanbō and grins down at her.  "Looks like you're my co-pilot again. And now we're even." He winks for good measure.

Applause erupts all around them. Mako feels even more red in the face, and she can't seem to meet Raleigh's eyes as he helps her to her feet. She bows to Pentecost and collects her shoes, stashing her hanbō before darting out of the Kwoon.

Raleigh's grin doesn't fade even when Mako disappears. Without a sparring partner, he's done for the night. After getting an approving nod from Ranger Lambert, Raleigh follows Mako's lead. In the back of the dwindling crowd, he spies Pentecost hand Herc a twenty-dollar bill.

* * *

Their elation is short-lived. The next night, alarms blare all around the Shatterdome. Raleigh and Mako abandon their dinner trays and race up to LOCCENT along with the rest of the strike teams. A few J-Techs are zipping up their jumpsuits over their pajamas.

It's chaos. Instruments are rattling off numbers. Machines are screaming. Pilots are muttering to themselves in their native tongues, concerned that this attack came too early, came too soon before Operation Pitfall. 

Raleigh and Mako wade through the sea of people to the front of the crowd. Tendo, Pentecost, and Dr. Gottlieb are there, along with the Hansens, Weis, and Kaidonovskys. Newt is nowhere to be found.

"The Perimeter was breached at 2300 hours," Tendo calls over the din. "We have two signatures, both Category IVs, codenames Otachi and Leatherback. Assuming they head straight for the Breach, they'll reach it within the hour."

"Evacuate the park," Pentecost orders. "I want every single civilian and park ranger in a Safe Zone right now."

 _Safe Zones. Right_ , Raleigh thinks, crossing his arms. _Not that there are many of those left_. 

When the Wall started going up, politicians siphoned money out of the funding for Safe Zones—makeshift concrete bunkers peppered along the beaches and rivers throughout the park, designed to protect hikers caught unawares. The park had closed years ago, so Raleigh doubts there are any hikers hanging around, least of all in the dead of winter.

"Crimson Typhoon, Cherno Alpha, I want you to frontline the Perimeter," Pentecost continues. The respective pilots nod, already suited up and ready to go. "Striker Eureka, I want you to stay back on the Miracle Mile and look after the Breach. We cannot afford to lose you, so only engage as a final option."

"Yes, sir," Chuck and Herc say in unison. 

"And you two," Pentecost mutters, looking at Raleigh and Mako, "stay put."

The LOCCENT buzzes with activity following Pentecost's orders. Raleigh and Mako stand their ground as the crowd recedes around them. On his way out of LOCCENT with the Weis and Kaidonovskys, Chuck sneers at them while Herc’s back is turned. Raleigh sneers back, but Mako is all business.

Her eyes are glued to the TV wall, where two black dots prowl along the Perimeter on the center screen. They blip in and out as the kaiju slink out of range.

Raleigh turns his attention to the command center window, watching the Shatterdome come alive as J-Techs and strike crew personnel prep the jaegers for battle. Crimson Typhoon steps out of the Shatterdome first, followed by Cherno Alpha and Striker Eureka. When they disappear through the dark forest, Raleigh watches their trek from a screen tuned in to one of the jaegers' shoulder-mounted cameras.

"LOCCENT." Herc's voice crackles over the comm, echoing around the command center. "Nearing position and awaiting orders."

"Remain in the Miracle Mile and engage at your discretion," Pentecost replies. "Rangers, keep your eyes open. These Category IVs are the biggest we've ever seen, both in size and weight."

About fifteen minutes later, Sasha's voice fills LOCCENT. "Cherno Alpha in position, ten-mile Perimeter." The steady thudding in the background tells Raleigh and Mako that the Kaidonovskys have their signature Ukrainian Hard House thumping through their speaker system. 

_Combat soundtrack—good way to stay focused, I guess_ , Raleigh figures. Mako says nothing through the Ghost Drift, so he glances down at her to see if she's okay. She's tense—her jaw and fists are clenched, her piercing gaze is focused on the TV screens, and her mind is buzzing with anxiety.

 _Hey._ He nudges her gently.  _I'm right here._

She relaxes the tiniest bit. That's good enough for him.

"Holding position," Sasha says. "The beacon is on."

Raleigh and Mako turn to Cherno Alpha's video feed. A beam of light throws the Anteverse in stark relief, illuminating thick groves of blackened trees growing and decaying underneath scarlet skies. A gray clearing comes into view. And just a few meters ahead, growing closer with the jaeger's every step, the edge of a sheer precipice.

"Crimson Typhoon also nearing target zone," one of the Wei triplets adds. Their jaeger is on the opposite end of the screen from Cherno Alpha. Their view shows the dead forest stretching for miles ahead.

Raleigh, Mako, and the LOCCENT personnel hold their breath as the two jaegers begin to pace the edges of the Perimeter. It's the last shred of familiarity within the alien landscape. Nobody on Earth knows what else lies beyond ten miles of the Breach.

Like the Upside Down from "Stranger Things," the Anteverse is an eerie mirror image of Earth. For the most part, the landscape is identical—Nitinaht Cone, Cheewhat Lake, and other geological landmarks are in the same spot. But the precipice, the northern and western border of the Perimeter, that's unique to the Anteverse. As far as anyone knows, it stretches from one horizon to the other. And no one knows how far down the drop-off goes.

Suddenly, Mako jumps like she's been shocked. A second later, Raleigh realizes why: On the center screen, a bogey is slinking around Crimson Typhoon. Whichever kaiju it is, it's moving fast. Cherno Alpha notices it, too; the jaeger starts running along the Perimeter toward Crimson Typhoon's position. 

When the Kaiju War started, countless recon squads had set up data towers along every mile of the Perimeter. They were intended to feed all kinds of information to the K-Scientists. When the war went public, those towers started sending that same data and video footage to the 24/7 K-Watch channel. No doubt the entire world is watching as the two jaegers prepare to fight the latest threats head-on.

From one of those video feeds in the Anteverse, Raleigh sees Crimson Typhoon lock into a defensive stance: two arms low, one arm high. The Thundercloud Formation. Had it not been for the circumstances, Raleigh would be eager to see the jaeger in action.

He doesn't have to wait to see what the Weis could do. The first kaiju charges at Crimson Typhoon, taking out the jaeger's legs with its tail. Crimson Typhoon crashes to the ground, but it's back on its feet in a few seconds.

Raleigh and Mako watch the fight unfold from Crimson Typhoon's shoulder-mounted camera. The video is shaky, but it shows the jaeger's chainsaw blades slicing into the kaiju's thick hide. Kaiju Blue spills all over the ground, glowing electric blue in the light of the Anteverse.

 _Those chainsaw blades are certainly effective_ , Mako marvels. Raleigh nods.

But the Weis don't hold off the kaiju much longer. After Crimson Typhoon's blades rake into its neck a third time, the kaiju wises up. Its three-clawed hands crush two of the jaegers' chainsaw-bladed ones, throwing the Weis off-balance. The kaiju's beady eyes come into focus: two on the side of its head, and two eye spots on each ridge above its nose.

Otachi. 

Crimson Typhoon launches itself in the air. Raleigh had seen the Wei brothers use that move once in the Kwoon. In sparring practice, one of the Weis would do a handstand over his opponent's head, then use his downward momentum to fling his opponent across the mat. It works in a jaeger, too; Otachi goes flying at least twenty meters.

Seconds later, Cherno Alpha charges onto the scene. The jaeger wastes no time lunging at Otachi, landing furious blows to the kaiju's head with its reinforced knuckles. The Kaidonovskys raise both fists above their heads to deliver a knockout blow— _just like the one Yance and I tried_ , Raleigh thinks bitterly—but Otachi is ready for them. Its massive tail swings out and hits the jaeger in the chest. 

Cherno Alpha staggers backward; a string of Russian swears filters through the comm. With Cherno Alpha stunned, Otachi stalks back toward the crippled Crimson Typhoon.

"LOCCENT, Typhoon and Alpha are in trouble," Herc says. "We're moving in."

Pentecost rushes to the comm. "You are to hold your ground. Repeat: Do not engage. We need you to carry that bomb. Do you copy?"

From Crimson Typhoon's video feed, Mako and Raleigh watch helplessly as Otachi reaches with its clawed tail and digs into the jaeger's Conn-Pod. The feed shorts out.

Herc sees it, too. "LOCCENT," he shouts, "we're moving in—now!"

Pentecost turns and fixes Raleigh with a knowing stare. Through the Ghost Drift, Mako catches the meaning. _It's exactly like the call he and Yancy made during—_

She senses Raleigh's guilt and decides not to finish that thought.

With a shriek that seems to echo throughout the Shatterdome, Otachi roars as it tears Crimson Typhoon's Conn-Pod free. The jaeger's shell topples backward.

Panic fills the Ghost Drift. Most of it is Mako's. _That thing took out their only hope of escaping. Are the Weis still connected to the Conn-Pod's life support systems? Or maybe the rear section isn't damaged, and_ _they can all crowd into—_

But it seems Otachi already knows what could happen. From a nearby data tower's video feed, Raleigh and Mako watch in horror as Otachi tramples the Conn-Pod, which had cracked in three even sections along the escape pod partitions. Crimson Typhoon's comm system cuts out—but not before the Wei's anguished screams pierce through the command center. 

Mako fights back a wave of nausea. Raleigh grits his teeth and steps closer, closing the gap between them. He nudges her, repeating  _I'm right here, it's okay_  like it's the only thing keeping them alive.

Otachi turns around, sizing up Cherno Alpha. The jaeger is back in the fight, and the Kaidonovskys are pissed. Cherno Alpha punches its fists together threateningly. But the kaiju doesn't slink away. Like a cat, Otachi twitches its tail and leans on its forelegs, looking like it's about to pounce. A sac around its throat starts glowing blue.

With an ear-piercing screech, Otachi spews iridescent slime all over Cherno Alpha. The jaeger stumbles, its powerful punch faltering. Tendo's computer shows Cherno Alpha's critical systems blink out.

"Cherno Alpha—we've been hit with some type of acid," Sasha calls over the comm. Her tone is level, but her words come out quick. In the background, over the thumping bass and harsh synthesizers, sparks fly and alarms sound. "Hull has been compromised. We need assistance immediately!"

"Just hold on, Cherno, we're on our way!" Chuck screams through the comm.

The jaeger is only halfway to the Perimeter. The Hansens are no doubt running as fast as possible to cover those few miles in time. Raleigh watches Striker Eureka's progress on the center screen, admiring the Mark V's speed and power. He feels a mix of jealousy at wanting to pilot a jaeger like that and guilt for somehow being disloyal to Lady Danger. To Mako.

 _They're ten minutes away. Even at top speed they're not going to make it_ , Mako thinks, tensing.

Meanwhile, Otachi tears relentlessly at the disabled Cherno Alpha. From a nearby K-Watch video feed, Raleigh and Mako see flares dance on the screen—flames.

And then another kaiju launches into the fray. Leatherback. 

_Oh, no_ , Raleigh thinks. _This is bad_.

The two kaiju tag-team against Cherno Alpha, ripping the jaeger to pieces. Mako, Raleigh, and the other LOCCENT personnel can only watch helplessly from TV screens back on Earth. 

"Never surrender!" Aleksis calls through the comm. Whether he's talking to his wife or LOCCENT, Raleigh and Mako don't know. And that's the last they hear from Cherno Alpha. The next second, Leatherback pushes the jaeger to the ground and beats it until the comm goes out.

Striker Eureka is steps away when Cherno Alpha's Conn-Pod explodes.

With an enraged cry from its pilots, Striker Eureka lunges for the nearest kaiju, Otachi, landing a few well-placed punches to its head before following them up with a kick to the chest. The kaiju flies backward, bursting out of the grove of trees.

Before Otachi can recover, Striker Eureka picks up the kaiju and flings it toward the precipice. With a screech, Otachi sails over the edge of the cliff and out of sight. In LOCCENT, the bogey blips off screen.

Striker Eureka rounds on Leatherback. 

"Engaging missiles!" Herc shouts through the comm.

Just then, a bright glow lights up the screen. It's coming from Leatherback. Before anyone has time to guess what that orb is, a series of energy pulses radiate from the kaiju. Striker Eureka stumbles back before going still. A handful of LOCCENT's video feeds go dark.

"Striker, do you come in?" Tendo calls through the comm. No answer.

"What happened?" Pentecost bellows, looking first to Tendo and then to Dr. Gottlieb.

Tendo responds first. "The blast, it… it jumbled all of their electrical circuits and computer systems."

"They're adapting," Dr. Gottlieb mutters. "This isn't a defense mechanism, it's a weapon."

 _It shouldn't have been that easy for the kaiju to take down those jaegers_ , Mako thinks. _It's like—_  

 _Like they were expecting us_ , Raleigh finishes. _Yeah. I've seen it_. A fragment of a memory rushes through their minds, but now's not the time to dwell on Knifehead.

"Get me Striker," Pentecost orders.

"I can't, sir, that was an EMP. It'll take at least half an hour for them to reroute the auxiliary power. All the jaegers—they're digital."

"Not all of them, Marshal," Raleigh pipes up. "Lady's analog—almost entirely mechanical. If we get hit with an EMP like that, we can keep going."

Pentecost fixes Raleigh and Mako with a long stare. Finally, he says the two words Raleigh has been dying to hear from him, for Mako's sake: "Suit up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the Hong Kong fight scene you've all been waiting for. Only in this fic, it takes place mostly in the Anteverse. Part two of the fight is coming next week, so you don't have to wait around long for the thrilling conclusion. Obviously I took a lot of inspiration from the movie, but I mostly relied on the official novel for this chapter. There were a lot of great details in there—like the fact that the Kaidonovskys had a combat soundtrack (totally canon).
> 
> Nate Lambert is another Pacific Rim Uprising character to make an appearance. You'll be seeing more of him later.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this version of the Hong Kong fight! As always, thank you for sticking with this story.


	6. For Our Families

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Aretha Franklin  
> \- "Stranger Things Medley" by Nicholas Yee, Adam Caulfield, and Katherine Pernal  
> \- "Danger Danger" by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein  
> \- "We Can Make the World Stop" by The Glitch Mob  
> \- "No Pulse" by Ramin Djawadi  
> \- "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" by Aretha Franklin  
> \- "Bring It Down" by Daichi Miura  
> \- "Sail" by Jack Trammell  
> \- "For My Family" by Ramin Djawadi  
> \- "Ocean's Embrace" by August D. Valentine

**WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2025**  
**THE SHATTERDOME, PACIFIC RIM NATIONAL PARK RESERVE**

 

 _This is it. This is for real._ Mako’s mantra drowns out her fear—or is it Raleigh’s, terrified of facing not one but two kaiju after taking a four-year sabbatical? It's hard to tell now that their minds are intertwined. _Those kaiju took down Crimson Typhoon and Cherno Alpha, and five veteran pilots with them. There's no way we're getting out of this alive._

"Don’t think like that," Raleigh tells her, flashing her a look as they race out of LOCCENT. "If anything happens, we can eject."

"Cherno Alpha couldn't." The partition technology had been implemented after the Mark Is were already in service. And even then, escape pods were only ever considered a last resort. Nobody counted on the kaiju to evolve, to discover the jaegers' weaknesses. Not even Shao.

"They knew what they were getting into—victory or death."

The elevator doors slide open, and they step inside. It's a slow descent. The kaiju's shrieks, the Weis' screams, and the Kaidonovskys' chilling final words echo around their minds.

Mako grits her teeth and shivers; Raleigh wraps an arm around her shoulders and conjures up Aretha Franklin to calm both of them down: _Sail on silver girl, sail on by… your time has come to shine…_

Feeling cold metal against her crossed forearms reminds Mako of an older memory. One of Raleigh's. Maybe because he felt the same apprehension about his first mission as she's feeling now. "Raleigh," she starts, "this is your first deployment since…"

She lets that unfinished thought fall between them. Raleigh nods slowly, already knowing what's on her mind.

"For the sake of tradition," she continues, "do you want to—?"

"Trade tags?" He considers the two sets hanging around his neck. While one no longer weighs as heavily as it did before, it still reminds him that the last time he stepped into a jaeger ready for battle, he lost someone he loved. And that was against one Category III.

What was it his brother had said all those years ago?

On cue, Yancy's ghost chimes in: _You can't die if you're wearing someone else's tags._

It's not true, of course. It's just an old jaeger pilot superstition—Yancy and Chuck's, really. Pentecost would've blown a gasket if he'd heard those two broke protocol by wearing each other's IDs during combat.

Raleigh had been wearing Yancy's dog tags the morning Knifehead attacked. It was lucky his doc already knew him—otherwise, he would've been the one pronounced KIA.

Now, he and Mako will be facing two Category IVs. Alone. The odds aren't great, but he can't afford to think about the what-ifs. Regardless, he'd rather have his loved ones' names close to his heart during the heat of battle.

Before the doors slide open to Floor A, Raleigh removes his dog tags and hands them to Mako. She hands him hers. Pride, determination, and gratitude surge through the Ghost Drift as they saunter in step toward the Drivesuit Room.

While the J-Techs strap on her armor, Mako breathes deeply to clear her mind of anxious thoughts. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. The technique helps. By the time she steps into the Conn-Pod, she feels as combat-ready as she'll ever be.

Raleigh, meanwhile, distracts himself by handling the procedural stuff, calling out commands to LOCCENT and checking their heads-up displays and weapons systems obsessively.

“Ready?” He asks after his third inspection, more for LOCCENT’s benefit than Mako's. She nods, exhaling slowly.

“Initiating Neural Handshake,” Tendo narrates. Ten seconds later, they dive into the current of memories:

_Category III kaiju codename Tortuga… c'mon Rals there's no way you can die if you're wearing someone else's tags look me and Chuck are still alive… vengeance is like an open wound Mako you cannot take that level of emotion into the Drift… for my family I have to do this… ugh Ukrainian Hard House when will the prison guards stop playing that garbage… five years twenty-four days since our last Drift huh no wonder I was so miserable even though Yance was around… where's Jake the world is ending and I haven't heard from him in months… no matter how much we might bend we will not break…_

Their eyes snap open. Together, they take their first step. Then another. Then a third. Lady Danger saunters out of the Shatterdome and into the midnight forest. Soon, they're jogging through the darkness, relying on Raleigh's muscle memory rather than their heads-up displays to reach the Breach.

Mako feels Raleigh’s apprehension as they approach the dying cedar tree. The Breach seems familiar to her, but she assumes that's because it's familiar to Raleigh.

They glance at each other— _let's do this_ —and squeeze through the gaping wound in the trunk.

* * *

Adrenaline surges through the Drift as they sprint to the Perimeter over crumbling mountains and across dried-up creekbeds. For those ten minutes, memories splash like ocean spray around their minds:

_I thought Raleigh was dead but he's alive he's right here on the tarmac grinning like he never left… blue hair excellent jawline and I'd recognize those beautiful brown eyes anywhere it's Mako under that umbrella… he let Mum die he could've let me swim to safety but he didn't… first Aunt Luna then Tam then Raleigh and now Jake will there be anyone left when I go back to the States… you and Naomi what the hell Yance you knew I had a thing for her… well I finally discovered what my nightmare was about and it turns out it's a childhood memory I wish Raleigh were here he'd understand what I'm going through… I let Mako down I let everyone down will they ever forgive me…_

It's the first time, they both realize, that they can explore the depths of each other's minds. Primitive tech prevented it during their college Drifts. The Ghost Drift has its natural limitations. Even during their seventh Drift just days ago, the stress of operating a jaeger for the first time in years—for the first time ever, in Mako's case—kept them otherwise occupied.

There are no secrets between them now—for better and for worse. Too bad they don't have the time to appreciate it.

As much as they want to follow the siren's call of each other's memories, they know chasing the RABIT means forsaking their fellow Rangers. Dooming the whole world. So they shove their curiosity aside and focus on the Perimeter, which comes closer with every step.

They hear Leatherback before they see it. As they round a bend in a dry riverbed, a monstrous gorilla-like creature emerges from the gloom. It's peering into Striker Eureka's open hatch. The kaiju's head is almost as large as the jaeger's Conn-Pod.

A flare distracts Raleigh and Mako for a second, the white flame curving through the air just a second before hitting its mark: one of Leatherback's beady blue eyes. The kaiju roars and stamps the ground in pain. Striker Eureka shakes with every footfall.

"Chuck and Herc," Mako pants. "They're trying to buy us time."

"Or get themselves killed," Raleigh replies.

_Maybe both._

Lady Danger picks up speed.

“Striker Eureka!” Raleigh calls through the comm. No answer. The jaeger is still down, then. "We need to draw it away from them."

It doesn't take much effort. Leatherback snaps its head up at the sound of Lady Danger's mechanical footsteps. Raleigh and Mako slow down and assume a fighter's stance thirty meters away, left hand forward and right hand behind. Lady Danger mimics them.

With a new contender in the fight, Leatherback abandons Striker Eureka and prowls toward Lady Danger on all fours.

“Hey, ugly!” Raleigh shouts. “Come get a piece of this!”

Leatherback roars and charges. Mako and Raleigh do the same.

Lady Danger shoves the kaiju as it approaches, and Leatherback stumbles into a hillside. Before it can pick itself up, Raleigh and Mako grab Leatherback under its beefy arms. Taking hold of the EMP appendage on the kaiju's back, Raleigh rips off the chunk of cartilage and tosses it over Lady Danger's shoulder. It lands in the creekbed behind them.

"Now we're even," he mutters.

They reset their fighter's guard, but not quickly enough. In pain and pissed off, Leatherback rounds on them. It traps Lady Danger in its forearms and slings the jaeger around, jostling Raleigh and Mako inside the Conn-Pod. After flying through the air and breaking through the tree line, Lady Danger crash-lands several meters from the precipice.

The jaeger's fingers scrape into the alien earth as Raleigh and Mako push Lady Danger upright.

"C'mon," Raleigh shouts. "Let's do this—together!" And they launch Lady Danger forward.

Leatherback bursts through the tree line a second later, coming straight for them. Just before they collide, Lady Danger leaps into the air. The kaiju falters, its eyes widening in surprise— _if creatures like that are capable of showing emotion,_ Mako thinks.

Leaning into the punch, Lady Danger slams its left fist into Leatherback's face. It topples backward. With the kaiju down, Mako takes hold of Leatherback's head in Lady Danger's left hand. Raleigh follows up with crosses and uppercuts.

Rage rushes through the Drift—vengeance is on Raleigh's mind, too. The jaeger delivers a powerful cross ("that one's for the Weis," he says through clenched teeth), then an uppercut ("that one's for the Kaidonovskys").

"Elbow rocket," he tells Mako. The impact of Lady Danger's knuckles hitting Leatherback's face shakes them to the core. Kaiju Blue oozes out of Leatherback's mouth and nose.

"And that one's for my brother."

Leatherback roars and staggers back, scrambling for anything it can get its meaty fingers around. Raleigh and Mako don't have time to register what it's grabbing when a decaying tree branch flies toward their Conn-Pod. They turn the jaeger just in time, but Raleigh's side of the rig takes the brunt of the blow. He grimaces as his drivesuit sends shock waves down his right shoulder.

There's a pile of boulders within arm's reach of Lady Danger. Mako grabs the one closest to her. Raleigh follows suit. In unison, they smash the rocks on either side of Leatherback's face as the kaiju lunges for them again. Teeth, spittle, brain matter, and gravel go flying.

Leatherback screeches. But before it can retaliate, Mako punches it in the face.

"Nice one," Raleigh says, beaming.

She grins back. "Thanks."

It's stunned. Now's their chance to finish Leatherback off. "Let's see if we can toss it over the cliff," Raleigh mutters.

Leatherback apparently senses their plan; the kaiju struggles as the jaeger hoists it to its feet. It claws at Lady Danger's Conn-Pod and tries to kick out the jaeger's legs.

"Hang on, Mako!" Raleigh shouts. He's losing his grip. But Mako acts quickly. Planting her feet, she winds back and tosses Leatherback a few meters away. The kaiju splinters spindly trees when it crashes back through the forest and onto a mountainside. Lady Danger rolls out its right shoulder as Raleigh adjusts his stance.

Leatherback doesn't stay down for long. It charges at them again, launching itself forward on its massive knuckles. It moves too fast for Lady Danger to step out of the way in time. The kaiju crashes into the jaeger, shoving it across the clearing toward the edge of the cliff. Raleigh and Mako dig their feet into the earth, but it's not enough to stop their momentum.

"Plasma cannon, now!" Raleigh shouts.

"Plasma cannon loading," Lady Danger's AI responds. The jaeger's right fist opens up.

 _That 15% warmup increase better pay off_ , Mako thinks. Seconds crawl like hours as the cliff comes closer. They're a few dozen meters from the precipice when the plasma cannon charge display hits 100%.

"Empty the clip!"

 _Blam!_ The kaiju bellows, but it doesn't stop.

 _Blam!_ It's still plowing into them.

 _Blam!_ There's a hole in its side. But Leatherback keeps charging.

 _Blam!_ Kaiju Blue splashes onto Lady Danger's right arm.

 _Blam!_ The cliff is steps away now.

 _Blam!_ It's working—Leatherback's arm falls off.

 _Blam!_ Lady Danger's heels dangle over the cliff edge. But they've stopped moving. With a gurgling roar, Leatherback slumps to its side.

 _Just in time_ , Mako breathes. Leatherback's gruesome remains come into focus, and she clenches her fist to quell her nausea. Kaiju Blue is puddling around the mangled stump where the kaiju's arm used to be.

There's no energy signature on their heads-up display. _We did it. One kaiju down. One more to kill._

Lady Danger takes a few steps before a bitter memory surges through the Drift: _Direct hit nice one Yancy—no energy signature Knifehead's dead—that's another one down now let's go save Romeo Blue—_

"Wait," Raleigh mutters, glancing over his shoulder. "I think this guy's dead, but…"

Mako nods. _We won't let history repeat itself._

"Let's check for a pulse." Whirling around, Lady Danger fires two more plasma rounds into the kaiju's body. Leatherback's chest opens up and ribs splinter, revealing its fiery-red heart. Another blast, and its heart disintegrates.

"Right plasma cannon reserves depleted," Lady Danger's AI warns.

But all they feel is relief flooding through the Drift as Raleigh mutters, "no pulse."

“Nice job, Lady Danger," Tendo calls over the comm. "One down, one to go. We still don't have a visual on Otachi—I'm sending you its last coordinates now. In the meantime, regroup with Striker Eureka.”

"Copy that," Raleigh grins, glancing at Mako. He savors the elated smile she returns.

The comm crackles as Tendo switches off. Now that Leatherback isn't roaring in their ears, the only noise filing the Conn-Pod is Lady Danger's whirring machinery and Raleigh and Mako's heavy breathing. The pseudo-silence is deafening.

"There's no aux cord in here, is there?" Raleigh asks.

Mako smirks and rolls her eyes. "No. But I'm sure you have all of Aretha Franklin's music memorized by now. Play us something."

Like a radio scanner playing snippets of different stations, the Drift picks up segments of songs Raleigh sifts through in his memories. He picks one just as Otachi's coordinates blink on their heads-up display. The kaiju had sailed over the cliff about a hundred meters from where they're standing.

As "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" fills their minds, they break into a jog, closing the distance between themselves and Striker Eureka as quick as they can. Through the dark forest, Raleigh and Mako see a flicker of light—the jaeger must be coming back online.

“Lady Danger." Herc's voice fills their Conn-Pod. It sounds strained, like he's speaking through clenched teeth. "We’re heading back to the Shatterdome. Pentecost’s orders.”

“We'll cover you,” Mako replies, voicing Raleigh's response from just a split-second before. She checks their feed. Still no sign of Otachi. A sinking feeling of familiarity washes over her—

_Kaiju signature rising—Knifehead is still alive get out of there do you copy get out of there now—_

Raleigh's not the only one carrying memories of Knifehead around, apparently. “Hey,” he says, sending reassurance her way to wash those memories out of her head. “It won’t be like that. We know what’s coming.”

_I'd feel better if we could see Otachi._

"Yeah, me too. C'mon, let's give Striker Eureka some backup."

They follow in Striker Eureka's footsteps through the dying forest. It's a long trek back to the Breach—the most direct route takes them up and over craggy summits, the Anteverse equivalent of the Vancouver Island Ranges. They avoid the grueling thousand-meter climbs, however, instead following valleys carved by rivers that have long-since dried up.

As they come across the deep lakebeds closest to the Breach, a bogey blips on screen near the Perimeter and disappears. A minute later, it happens again.

Raleigh confirms Mako's fear. "Otachi."

The dark forest obscures their view of Striker Eureka, so they keep their eyes glued to the heads-up display. Trees tower above Lady Danger in all directions, the trunks spearing the landscape from one horizon to the other. A blood-red sky peeks through the withering treetops.

The alienness of the world finally registers with Mako. Shivers race down her spine.

For the third time, a black dot flashes on their screen. This time, though, it holds steady. Otachi is waiting. Just as Striker Eureka steps through the Breach and disappears on-screen, Raleigh and Mako race for the Perimeter, back through the narrow valleys and over the rugged mountains.

As they reach a clearing in the dense forest, Mako spies what looks like a pile of boulders and branches to their left. With one plasma cannon empty, they could use another powerful weapon. A bludgeon would work.

Raleigh chuckles. "Is your batting average as good as your simulator score?"

"I don't know." She turns in the rig to give him a cheeky smile. "Let's find out."

They saunter over to the refuse, and Mako grabs a gnarled, charred branch. It feels heavier than it should be. But then again, it's an alien world. If the kaiju aren't like anything on Earth, why should the vegetation be any different?

Dragging the branch behind them, they trek through the clearing to face Otachi.

When they reach Otachi's last coordinates, they freeze. To their left, about a hundred meters away, Leatherback's corpse lies in a pool of iridescent blue blood. To their right, the precipice stretches for miles. And behind them, there's a gaping maw in the tree line, no doubt where Striker Eureka barreled into Otachi before sending the kaiju to its death—or so they thought.

The dot is still on their screen. But Otachi is nowhere in sight.

 _Otachi should be here_ , Mako muses. _So where—_

A screech from below the precipice answers her question. She and Raleigh tense as they see Otachi's leathery wings ascend above the cliff edge, followed by its V-shaped head. Its claws curl into the alien earth as it lands on the precipice.

Otachi shifts forward into a crouch, uttering a guttural growl.

"Get ready, Mako," Raleigh says. Both of them plant their feet; Lady Danger follows suit.

Otachi prowls toward them.

"Not yet." Lady Danger's fingers drum against the branch. They make a clinking sound.

The kaiju screeches as it lunges toward them, claws out.

"Now! Batter up, Otachi," Raleigh yells, swinging the branch around. Mako makes the same motion. The branch hits Otachi across the face, knocking out a few of its teeth.

_Just like your Little League days, huh, Raleigh?_

He smirks, winding up for another swing. But one hit doesn't slow the kaiju down. Neither do the next three. On the fifth swing, Otachi's prehensile tail flips up and over the kaiju's back and snaps at the branch. Raleigh sees that Otachi's tail has three claws, like those arcade games he and Yancy used to play as kids.

The claw bends the club in half.

A red stripe over military-green paint catches her eye _. That's not a branch_ , Mako thinks. _That's Cherno Alpha._

"Then let's avenge them the right way." Raleigh yanks the jaeger's severed arm out of the kaiju's grip and winds up for a final swing. Otachi beats them to it. It snatches Cherno Alpha's arm out of Lady Danger's hands and hurls it over the precipice.

Raleigh and Mako watch it disappear over the cliff edge, feeling guilt, despair, and anger rush through the Drift. In their split-second hesitation, they miss seeing Otachi's prehensile tail lash out at them. It knocks the wind out of them as it hits Lady Danger's Conn-Pod. They sail back into the forest, feeling trees snap under their jaeger's weight, before skidding to a stop against a mountainside.

But instead of finishing them off, Otachi turns away.

"Where's it… going?" Raleigh pants, trying to catch his breath. The heads-up display says Otachi is heading west, but not directly. It's not flying, then. That's good news.

 _Toward the Breach?_ Mako wonders.

"Can't let that happen."

They pick themselves up and jog back to the precipice. They scan the horizon and the skies, but they don't see the kaiju anywhere. A few meters away, they catch sight of a few trees swaying.

_Otachi must have gone through there._

They head back toward the forest, keeping a close eye on their heads-up display.

The black dot on their screen is too close to their position for comfort. _It's still nearby_ , Mako thinks, _but where exactly is it?_

Raleigh shakes his head. "I can't pinpoint it. It's moving quick. Keep your eyes open."

_Our jaegers need more precise navigation systems—noted._

"Tendo, do you have a visual from those K-Watch towers?"

"Negative," Tendo calls. "We can't see anything from our end."

The bogey on their screen shifts north, but the movement's too quick for them to register. Otachi launches out of the tree line, catching them by surprise.

Mako swears under her breath. As Lady Danger topples under the weight of Otachi, she crouches on one knee to keep the jaeger from falling over. Raleigh delivers a powerful uppercut, taking some of that weight off them. Otachi stumbles backward, and Mako follows up with a left hook.

Raleigh's next punch whizzes over the kaiju's head, giving Otachi enough time to toss them into the trees. The sac underneath the kaiju's mouth glows iridescent blue just a millisecond before a stream of acid sails toward them.

They duck out of the way just in time. The tree behind them dissolves as the acid drips down the trunk.

Otachi roars again, heaving like it's about to spit another acid glob at them. Raleigh lunges forward before it can do that, and Lady Danger grabs hold of the glowing bile sac.

The kaiju isn't going down without a fight. Otachi lashes its tail around Lady Danger's left arm, sending electric shocks down Mako's arm. The jaeger's titanium arm groans with the stress, and the kaiju's tail claws snap at their Conn-Pod.

"I'll hold it!" Raleigh shouts. "Vent the coolant on the left flank!"

 _You really know your jaeger_. Mako types in the command, and Lady Danger's AI narrates it: "Coolant venting—CO2 purge."

A cloud of white surrounds them. Otachi's screeching says the flash-freezing is working. Once the tail stops thrashing, Mako shrugs out her shoulder. Otachi's tail shatters, freeing the jaeger from the kaiju's clutches.

 _Need a hand?_ Mako grabs one of Otachi's nose ridges, giving Raleigh the leverage he needs to rip out the bile sac. Acid spit and Kaiju Blue spray everywhere as it roars. 

Lurching forward, Otachi digs its back claws into Lady Danger's Conn-Pod. Electric shocks shoot up Raleigh and Mako's ribs in response. Extending its two leathery wings like sails, the kaiju launches itself into the air, bursts through the treetops, and ascends into the scarlet sky.

As Otachi repeatedly slams Lady Danger into the trees and mountaintops, Mako's and Raleigh's drivesuits send electric shocks down their backs and arms. A string of curses, half English and half Japanese, rush through the Drift. Sparks rain down in the Conn-Pod as Otachi's claws dig into the rig.

_Knifehead he went through the hull Raleigh—_

"Focus, Raleigh!" Mako shouts over the din of blaring alarms. "We're not going down just yet."

Mako aims her plasma cannon toward the kaiju. _Blam!_  The shot misses the kaiju's wings by mere inches as the jaeger swings in Otachi's grasp. She can smell something burning—plasma discharge. The kaiju responds by plowing them into another mountainside.

 _Blam!_ Mako tries again, singeing Otachi's belly but not enough to slow it down or change its course. Soon, though, the kaiju descends ever so slightly over a clearing— _a lakebed_ , Mako realizes.

"Where's it—?"

Raleigh doesn't have to wait long to find out. Otachi dives toward the forest floor, dropping them into the lakebed before gliding through the trees. Raleigh and Mako feel their teeth rattle as their jaeger hits the ground.

"It's going for the—"

 _I know!_ Mako fires another plasma burst at the kaiju, but the blast sails over the trees. They scramble out of the lakebed and through the forest, watching in horror as the black dot on their screen disappears when it reaches the Breach.

Emerging into their world.

* * *

It's dawn when Lady Danger bursts out of the Breach. Pink skies are fading into a soft turquoise. All along the trail to the Shatterdome, the ground is sprinkled with drops of Kaiju Blue.

A screech from above startles Raleigh and Mako, and they dive out of the way just as Otachi dives toward their jaeger. In sync, they grab the kaiju by its wings to prevent it from taking off again. But Otachi wriggles out of their grasp. A cauterized wound on its side tells Mako she hit her mark.

Before Mako can aim the plasma cannon for a killing blow, Otachi digs into the jaeger with its front claws again, this time tearing into Lady Danger's shoulders. Mako and Raleigh grimace as electricity surges through their collarbones.

Once again, they feel the earth fall out from underneath them as the kaiju takes flight. The treetops of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve brush against their feet—they can feel every movement through their drivesuits—as the kaiju soars higher and higher.

Mako wastes no time firing off the plasma cannon. But with the kaiju immediately above her, all she can do is aim blindly and hope she hits something. She's lost count by the time she does hit Otachi. They feel weightless in a split-second free-fall, but Otachi grabs hold of their Conn-Pod again.

"Left plasma cannon reserves depleted," Lady Danger's AI narrates as Mako aims for the kaiju's heart.

Mako swears under her breath. "Last chance," she mutters, typing in a final command. Raleigh's mind lights up through the Drift. She'll savor his reaction later, when she can finally reflect on everything that's happened.

"Sword deployment," Lady Danger's AI says.

Mako steels herself. It's the moment she's been working toward for seemingly her whole life. A chance to prove that she's more than her personal tragedies. That she's not just a mechanic, but also a capable fighter. Faces float through the Drift— _Aleksis Sasha Cheung Hu Jin Tam Yancy Aunt Luna Mom Dad_ —as she finally, finally seizes her moment.

"For my family!" She shouts, slicing through the air. Lady Danger's chain sword glides through Otachi's left wing and neck, and the kaiju's body splits in two.

Raleigh feels overwhelmed by Mako's elation, but he doesn't care. He's just glad she finally got the vengeance she deserved. He's about to say something sappy when he feels gravity pull them back to Earth. Lady Danger twists in the air, revealing nothing but the Pacific Ocean below them.

"Landing like this will kill us," Raleigh mutters, grasping at any and all plausible survival tips rushing through the Drift. "We need to hit the water feet first."

"Lady Danger!" Pentecost's voice crackles with radio interference. "Listen to me: Loosen all the shock absorbers. Use your gyroscope as balance and ball up. It's your only chance!"

Raleigh and Mako nod, furiously typing in commands. Once they have Lady Danger facing upright, they snap their arms and legs together in their pilot rigs. They fall down, down, down—

"We're coming in too fast." There's panic in Raleigh's voice, but it's there in Mako's mind, too. Both sets of dog tags clink underneath Raleigh's drivesuit. His promise to Mako that morning— _if anything happens, we can eject_ —now sounds hollow in his mind as the Pacific Ocean hurtles toward them.

Mako voices what Raleigh refuses to. _The escape pods weren't built for this._

He sighs. "Look, Mako, not that it matters now, but—"

Mako tenses as whitecaps fill her vision, pulling Raleigh away from his train of thought. _Brace for impact!_

The whole Conn-Pod shudders as they hit the waves. Then, the world goes black.

* * *

They're floating. Everything is dark. Even the Drift is silent.

Raleigh exhales slowly and opens his eyes. It takes a few seconds, but his eyes finally adjust to the inky darkness beneath the ocean's surface. Feeling returns to his toes first. A second later, the heads-up displays click back on. But the Drift is still eerily silent.

Raleigh turns in his rig to face his co-pilot. "Mako, talk to me," he breathes. "Are you okay?"

Those silent seconds crawl by like years. "Yeah," she replies finally. "You?"

Raleigh can't help chuckling. "You just beheaded a kaiju in midair. With a sword. That was the coolest thing I've ever seen."

And there, in their damaged Conn-Pod, underneath the Pacific Ocean, Raleigh and Mako burst out laughing.

Lady Danger's AI interrupts their celebration. "Warning: Conn-Pod air lock compromised." The air pressurization systems hiss as water begins gushing through cracks in the hull. They've stopped floating; they must've hit the ocean floor.

Pentecost's voice comes in garbled through the comm. "Lady Danger! Do you copy?"

"Copy," Raleigh croaks, tensing as cold water pools around his boots. "We're alive. But we're taking on water."

"How deep?"

Raleigh and Mako stand, and Lady Danger follows suit. The jaeger is fully submerged, but they can see whitecaps breaking a few meters above them.

"Not very," Raleigh replies. "We'll walk back to shore as far as we can."

"Copy."

Mako's breath catches in her chest as she feels the frigid water lap against her drivesuit. Her childhood memory of Sagami Bay comes to mind. The jaeger's Conn-Pod dissolves around her, and monstrous waves barrel closer and closer—

"Hey." Raleigh's voice is enough to snap her out of her memories this time. "We're going to be okay. If we survived that fall, we can survive anything." He grins despite his chattering teeth. "Let's head back."

They take a step. It's in the right direction—the ocean floor rises underneath them.

Walking underwater in a jaeger feels like walking with fifty-pound weights on their feet. Lady Danger wasn't built for underwater combat, so it's only a matter of time before the jaeger will shudder to a stop.

The water is up to Mako's knees now. Her breathing comes in gasps as she panics—

"It's going to be okay." Raleigh's voice floats through her mind. He holds out his left hand. "If we can't get it all the way to shore, we'll disengage. Either way, we're going to make it."

Mako takes his hand, and some of her panic subsides. The water is up to her waist when the Conn-Pod breaks the surface. Waves crash over it and threaten to topple their jaeger. The shore seems so far away.

With every step, the jaeger rises above the waves. Slowly, the water level in the Conn-Pod recedes— _thank goodness_ , Mako muses, because the seawater is almost up to her chest.

The jaeger grinds to a halt about thirty meters from shore. All of their systems shut down. The Conn-Pod goes dark again, but this time they have the early dawn to light their way.

As Raleigh manually disengages them from their rigs, he feels a chill as Mako's mind recedes from his. They had been Drifting for hours—having his own memories front and center feels unnatural now. But at least Mako's hand is still in his.

Water gushes out as the Conn-Pod hatch rises. Every few seconds, a wave rushes around the jaeger, swirling into the Conn-Pod before receding with the tide. On shore, the crowd of navy-clad PPDC personnel stands out against the bleached sand.

Over the roar of the sea and the whirring of helicopter rotors, Raleigh can still hear Mako's anxious thoughts rippling through the Ghost Drift. "We've got to take the leap, Mako," he calls. "I won't let you drown."

Reluctantly, she nods. Raleigh squeezes her hand reassuringly, and she squeezes it back. Together, they plunge into the frigid Pacific Ocean.

True to his word, Raleigh supports her lifeguard-style to keep her head above water. Although a few breakers manage to overtake them, they surface not even a second later. By the time they crawl onto shore, they're soaked head to toe and shivering uncontrollably. The PPDC personnel nearest them don't hesitate to pile blankets around their shoulders.

A splash draws Mako's attention back to sea, where helicopters are lifting Lady Danger out of the ocean. Seawater is pouring out of the Conn-Pod. An iridescent blue just behind the jaeger catches her eye, and she heaves as she realize what it is: Otachi's bloated body floating toward shore.

She reflexively reaches for Raleigh's hand, relief flooding through her when she finds it. As the crowd herds them back toward the safety of the Shatterdome, she and Raleigh hold tightly to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In hindsight, I probably should've broken up this chapter... oh, well. There's not too much action in the next chapter, but you'll get Raleigh and Mako's reactions to everything that happened. 
> 
> I used more than the movie and official novelization for the latter half of the Hong Kong fight. I also took inspiration from...
> 
>  **Tales From Year Zero (comic):**
> 
> In canon, Luna Pentecost (Stacker's sister AKA Aunt Luna) was killed by Trespasser during K-Day. In my interpretation, she was part of the squadron of soldiers who first explored the Breach. I briefly mention her in [the first "Tales From the Breach" chapter](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17762003/chapters/41910587), but she'll eventually have her own story in this fic's prologue. 
> 
> Naomi Sokolov was a jaeger pilot groupie whom Raleigh liked but never asked out; Yancy hooked up with her instead. In my fic, I had this take place during high school instead of at the Jaeger Academy.
> 
>  **Scrapped Pacific Rim movie script ([summary here](https://pacificrim.fandom.com/wiki/Pacific_Rim_\(draft_script\))):**
> 
> Tortuga was the original name of the kaiju that killed Yancy. I decided to use the name for the Becket brothers' first mission together.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!


	7. Distractions Are What We Need Right Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "Pentecost" by Ramin Djawadi  
> \- "Let Me Down Slowly" by Alec Benjamin and Alessia Cara  
> \- "When the Party's Over" by Our Last Night  
> \- "Kaiju Groupie" by Ramin Djawadi

**THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2025**  
**THE SHATTERDOME, PACIFIC RIM NATIONAL PARK RESERVE**

 

Thunderous applause greets Raleigh and Mako as J-Techs, LOCCENT officers, and cadets usher them into the jaeger bays. All around them, people clap them on their shoulders, shake their free hands, and mumble thank-you speeches with tear-filled eyes.

On any other occasion, the noise would be deafening. But it's better than hearing the Weis' and Kaidonovskys' panic or the kaiju's screeches echoing through the Ghost Drift. No, they'll take any distraction they can get.

Raleigh hadn't let go of Mako's hand since the two had crawled to shore. Now that she's no longer fighting back nausea and hypothermia, she's relishing the feeling of his hand in hers.

It's calloused from all those months working on the Wall (and two fishing boats before that—Mako could picture them as vividly as if she had been a deckhand herself), but Raleigh's hand is no less warm than the one she'd held all those years ago. The memory of a warm summer breeze floats through the Ghost Drift, and she and Raleigh share a small smile.

After a grueling eight-hour mission, separating from the other's mind had felt worse than their frigid plunge in the Pacific. Hand-holding is nothing close to a Drift connection, but it's better than not being connected at all.

While Mako feels content, Raleigh feels giddy. Not only does he have two more kaiju kills under his belt, but they're both with Mako as his undisputed co-pilot. He's grinning from ear to ear despite the surging crowd that's threatening to drown them.

Someone calls his name, and he turns toward the source. It's Herc. He squeezes through the crowd gingerly, and Raleigh realizes why just seconds before he joins them: Herc's arm is in a sling.

The din dies down around them. Herc fixes the co-pilots with a long stare, his words completely unnecessary to express his thanks. He says it, anyway.

"My kid would never admit it," he murmurs, nodding over his shoulder to Chuck, "but he's grateful. We both are." He shakes Mako's hand first, then Raleigh's.

Mako follows Herc's gesture and finds Chuck hiding in the middle of the crowd. He nods to Raleigh once, and Mako knows it's the closest he'll ever come to not only thanking Raleigh, but also setting aside their old rivalry.

Raleigh picks up on it, too. _I couldn't save Yancy, but I could save Chuck. We're even now._

The smile Raleigh gives Lady Danger’s former pilot is free of resentment. Chuck seems to accept it; his usual hardened gaze softens.

A commanding voice snaps Raleigh and Mako to attention.

"Mr. Becket, Miss Mori."

The entire crowd falls silent as the Shatterdome doors hiss open. The sea parts for Pentecost as he strides into the cavernous space. Raleigh glances at Mako, and concern floats through the Ghost Drift.

It turns out that they have nothing to worry about. "In all of my years fighting," Pentecost says, his tone softening with every step, "I've never seen anything like that."

He looks to Mako, and there's nothing but affection in his gaze. "Well done. I'm proud of you."

She returns a weak smile.

"I'm proud of us all," he addresses the crowd around them. "But as harsh as it sounds, this is no time to celebrate. We lost two crews."

Every eye reflexively glances at Crimson Typhoon's and Cherno Alpha's empty bays. There's not a dry eye in the crowd of their strike crew personnel. Most are huddling together on the mezzanine, leaning on each other's shoulders or the railing for support. Some of Crimson Typhoon's personnel are mingling with Cherno Alpha's, the pseudo-feud of just eight days ago forgotten.

No one is standing near the Weis' basketball goal or the Kaidonovskys' vintage stereo.

"There's no time to grieve," Pentecost says solemnly. "Reset that clock."

The world seems to freeze as the incessant ticking, usually white noise behind whirring machinery, stops. The flip-clock resets to 000:00:00:00. Then, the ticking echoes around the Shatterdome. One second since the last kaiju attack. Two seconds now. Three, four, five...

Raleigh recalls what Pentecost said to him the day he arrived at the Shatterdome: _the frequency of attacks is accelerating._ If they're lucky, they'll have a week to prep the two remaining jaegers for whatever else threatens to step through the Breach. A week to prepare their final assault on the Anteverse and its inhabitants.

And he’ll have a week to enjoy whatever time he and Mako have left. If they're lucky.

Mako sucks in a breath, and Raleigh snaps his head around. She's staring at a drizzle of blood running down Pentecost's upper lip.

Raleigh figures it's just a winter nosebleed. He used to get those all the time as a kid when the air would dry up. But something about Mako's dejected look as she points it out to Pentecost makes him think otherwise.

And Pentecost's surprised reaction confirms it. He looks at the blood on his hands and then at Mako. "Reset the clock," Pentecost orders as he stalks out of the Shatterdome, pressing a handkerchief to his nose. Murmurs follow on his heels.

Raleigh watches him go, the feeling of grave news tugging at the back of his mind. He turns to Mako. _Bad?_

She nods sadly, tears in her eyes.

_What's going on?_

_It's not my story to tell_. She lets go of his hand to cut through the crowd, toward the Drivesuit Room. He doesn't blame her for being eager to change out of her cold, damp drivesuit into the warmest sweater she owns. But he already misses their proximity.

 _Then I'll meet you back here in a few minutes_ , Raleigh replies, watching her go. Still in his drivesuit, Raleigh strides down the hallway, up to Pentecost's office, and through the open door. He finds the Marshal washing his face, still wearing his blood-stained button-up shirt.

"How sick are you?" Raleigh begins. "And why didn't you tell me?"

There are no secrets in the Drift. Just half-formed memories that each partner has to piece together like a jigsaw puzzle. And from what Raleigh had gathered about Stacker Pentecost in his eight Drifts with Mako, he knew the man was keeping the severity of his illness under wraps.

The radiation poisoning is finally catching up with him.

"What's to tell?" Pentecost sighs and shakes water off his hands. "You know them Mark Is? We scraped those bad boys together in fourteen months. The last thing we were thinking about was radiation shielding."

 _That explains the Metharocin_. Raleigh notices the same metal pill box sitting on Pentecost's sink that he has back in his quarters.

"I ran nearly a dozen missions. I stayed under the medical radar for a while, but the last time I jockeyed was Onibaba in 2016."

 _When Tam suffered a seizure_. That's another missing piece of the puzzle. Raleigh knew Tamsin Sevier had developed cancer shortly after she and Pentecost retired from what was then the Pacific Rim Defense Corps. Like Mako, until she learned about the Jaeger Program, he'd assumed that cancer was simply part of Tam's family history.

"I finished that fight solo. And for three hours… I burned."

Raleigh instinctively rolls out his left shoulder. While he’d been piloting Lady Danger solo for the half-hour trek back to the Breach, his drivesuit had been short-circuiting, burning jagged lines up and down his left side. But the sheer stress of bearing the neural load alone didn't compare. How could Pentecost have dealt with that for three hours?

Hiding scars was one thing. That's why Raleigh had traded his short-sleeved shirts for thick sweaters—not that the weather in the Pacific Northwest made it difficult. He could only imagine what kinds of symptoms Pentecost had been hiding for close to ten years. Nosebleeds, apparently, are some of them.

"They warned me," Pentecost continues, grabbing a clean shirt from a pile of identical button-ups on a shelf, "that if I ever stepped foot in a jaeger again, the toll would be too much. You and I, we're the only two that ever ran solo combat."

Tamsin Sevier comes to Raleigh's mind again. He'd only met her in person once, but because he'd been in Mako's memories, he feels like he'd known her for years. _And we've both lost our co-pilots_ , Raleigh thinks bitterly.

"I didn't just call you here because you were the last available Mark III pilot. I called you back because I needed someone who wouldn't stop. Who would be willing to sacrifice everything to get the job done.” Pentecost pauses. “Even in a way that was… unorthodox."

Raleigh figures he's referring to his and Yancy’s judgement call about saving Romeo Blue, now three years, ten months, and twelve days ago. His face falls as the guilt surges back.

Pentecost strides over to his closet, where ten matching suit jackets hang at even intervals. Like the Marshal himself, everything in that closet is regimented. Deliberate. Predictable. But Pentecost's next words are so unexpected that Raleigh feels like he’s free-falling in Lady Danger again.

"Romeo Blue ran almost half a dozen missions after Knifehead," Pentecost says. "We wouldn't be having this conversation if they hadn't returned from that fight."

Coming from Pentecost, this is high praise indeed. And it's the validation Raleigh never knew he needed. For almost four years, he’d spent sleepless nights wondering whether disobeying Pentecost's orders had been the right move. After all, he'd lost Yancy—and lost part of himself, too.

But hearing Pentecost himself admit that their decision made a difference? Had saved countless lives, not just the Gage twins’?

He accepts the Marshal's compliment with an incredulous nod of his head. _I'm not even close to figuring out Pentecost. But it sounds like he's had me figured out all along. He knew I'd be willing to go on a suicide mission to save the world… and he's right._

Pentecost shrugs on a clean blazer and steps toward Raleigh. "I need you to do something for me." His posture says official business, but his soft tone says otherwise.

From poking around in Mako's head, especially during their last Drift, Raleigh figures this is the kind of interaction Pentecost reserves only for her. For family. _Mako, I hope you're seeing all this._

"Every Ranger leaves behind a legacy. Too many leave behind loose ends. I need to know I can trust someone to take care of mine."

Of all the memories to bubble to the surface in the Ghost Drift, it's Mako's Christmas selfie from back in college—of Pentecost, Tam, Mako, and Jake standing in front of a brightly lit tree. Except for Pentecost, every person in the photo is beaming. Raleigh feels an ache in his chest when he thinks of Mako's adopted brother, and he figures Mako is listening in.

"If we survive Operation Pitfall," Raleigh says, piecing everything together, "you want me to look out for your family."

Pentecost nods. Clasping his hands behind his back, he strides past Raleigh toward the reflecting pool. Raleigh follows a few steps behind, thinking the conversation is over. Mako is waiting downstairs, and Raleigh's dying to get out of his drivesuit. But then Pentecost pauses over the slate bridge to stare down at the rippling water.

"Ten years I've been part of the Jaeger Program," he muses. He's so quiet that Raleigh doesn't realize he's speaking at first. "I've seen countless Drift Compatible Rangers step into a jaeger. Most become good pilots. But I've found only family members make the best co-pilots."

Pentecost turns to face Raleigh. "Now I realize the best co-pilots don't always share a family tree."

It takes three deep breaths for Raleigh to realize he's got a dopey grin on his face, and five before he finally understands the full weight of Pentecost's words. Raleigh squares his shoulders and nods. "I—we—won't let you down, sir."

A hint of a smile crosses Pentecost's face. "Good. Dismissed, Mr. Becket. To the med bay—and bring Miss Mori with you."

Walking down the hallway to the elevator feels like free-falling in Lady Danger. He feels weightless and light-headed. He only half-remembers Pentecost ordering him to head to the med bay with Mako; luckily, Mako is waiting for him as the elevator doors open.

"Uh, med bay," he mumbles, pointing down the hallway.

"Drivesuit Room," she corrects, glancing at his black armor.

"Oh. Right." He's frozen to the concrete floor. "Wait here for me?"

She nods, her solemn expression brightening ever so slightly with her small smile. The smile widens as she watches Raleigh trip over his own two feet. By the time he comes sauntering down the hallway five minutes later, Raleigh seems to have composed himself.

"Want to tell me what you and Sensei talked about?" She asks as they fall in step together.

"Weren't you in my head the whole time?" He grins and nudges her shoulder playfully.

"Yes, but I'm… unclear about a few things."

Raleigh nods. "I'll tell you in a few minutes, once we're in the med bay. There's a lot."

The PPDC had kept the same handful of doctors and med techs on staff since day one, apparently. Raleigh remembers some of them. A few he only recalls in fuzzy memories from those few days after Knifehead—he shoves those away as best he can.

Now he's here with his co-pilot. His best friend. And for now, they're both alive.

The med techs usher them into a windowless room and shove them into separate beds before descending on them with blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, stethoscopes, and pen lights. It seems like there are a dozen people crammed into the tiny room to poke and prod them. It's overwhelming.

Raleigh meets Mako's eyes despite the half-dozen med techs standing between their hospital beds. _No worse than our first Drift, though, right?_ He thinks.

 _Right_. Mako smiles at the memory, filled with flickering fluorescent lights and humming computers and the smell of stale coffee and Red Bull. _We had no idea what we were getting into._

_Yeah, but it's been a fun ride, hasn't it?_

One of Mako's med techs hovers over her arm with an empty blood vial in hand, and Mako snaps her gaze to the ceiling. Inhale, exhale. _Mostly_. _Who knew we'd still be Drifting seven years later?_

Raleigh smiles and mimics Mako's pose, doing his best to quell the agitation on his end of the Ghost Drift. Finally, the med techs file out of the room.

"Alright, you two," says a voice from the doorway. Raleigh and Mako sit up in unison. "Ranger Becket, good to have you back. Staying out of trouble?"

Raleigh smirks slightly, but Mako senses melancholy underneath. There are memories buried there, she figures, but she can always ask him about them later. Along with the thousands of other questions on her mind.

"You know me," he says.

"I do." The doctor nods. He turns to Mako. "Ranger Mori, how are you feeling after your first mission?"

A torrent of words rushes through her mind. She grasps one. "Elated."

"That's the adrenaline. You two took some hard hits. That's why we want to keep you here overnight—to see if anything pops up. Stress fractures, bruising, stuff like that. You'll be free to go at 0700 tomorrow. We'll bring you food, but until tomorrow morning, stay put." He gives Raleigh a stern look before shutting the door behind him.

Now it's the silence that's overwhelming.

After the near-constant background noise from Lady Danger's AI, the ebbing ocean tide, and the cheers and congratulations around the Shatterdome, the ringing filling its place hurts Mako's ears.

"That's another thing they don't tell you about at the Academy," Raleigh chuckles darkly. He swings his feet over the bed to face her. "First missions are rough. You doing okay?"

"I feel antsy," she says, sitting up and mimicking Raleigh's pose. "They can't expect us to lay here for twenty-four hours, can they?"

Raleigh nods. "Don't even think about making a run for it. I've tried it a few times. Those med techs don't look it, but they could take down the Kaidonovskys."

Mako smirks, but reality quickly wipes the smile off her face— _the Kaidonovskys aren't coming back. And neither are the Weis._

"They were veteran pilots," she says softly, staring down at the concrete floor. "And the Kaidonovskys—six years defending the Perimeter…"

"I know. It's not fair. You were right, it's like the kaiju knew they'd be fighting Crimson Typhoon and Cherno Alpha. But until we get out of here, there's nothing we can do about it."

Reluctantly, she nods. Grief over their fellow Rangers' deaths is only just starting to hit them. It would be a long twenty-four hours without their usual distractions keeping them occupied. At least they have other things to talk about.

She takes her eyes off the floor and meets Raleigh's empathetic gaze. "What were you going to tell me earlier?" She asks. "About your talk with Sensei?"

"Well," he begins, leaning back on his hands, "he told me what he's dealing with. Sort of. After what he's been through, I'm amazed he's still alive."

Mako nods slowly, slumping sideways and curling into her pillow. _His condition is getting worse._ She shakes her head to get rid of that thought, instead focusing on another. "What else did he say? I heard something about tying up loose ends."

Raleigh pushes the med cart out of their way so he can lie down facing her. "He wants to know there will be someone looking out for you… and Jake," he finishes lamely. The dejection he'd felt back in Pentecost's office returns when he says Jake's name.

"I haven't seen him since I graduated," Mako murmurs into her pillow. "He enrolled in the Jaeger Academy, but…"

Raleigh tries to hang on as a surge of thoughts rushes through Mako's mind: _Being a jaeger pilot was your calling Jake why did you have to ruin your future trying to prove a point—Jake talk to me I know you still have your phone on you don't ignore my texts—what happened between you and Sensei—_

"Once this is all over, Mako, we can find him. I have a feeling he'll want to see his sister again."

Mako smiles sleepily, her eyelids fluttering shut. "I was so antsy just a few minutes ago," she mutters, stifling a yawn. "Now I can't keep my eyes open."

"Adrenaline does that," Raleigh replies. Come to think of it, he's exhausted, too. "We've been up for almost twenty-four hours. Took out two kaiju, too." He smirks, prying his eyes open to gauge her reaction. But Mako is passed out, her knees curled up to her chest.

It's the first time in years Raleigh has seen her without that determined look on her face. A memory of a quiet, dark drive to the coast comes to mind, and he sinks happily into it. A few minutes later, Raleigh falls fast asleep, too.

* * *

Mako wakes up in a panic after hurtling toward the Pacific Ocean. Her sheets are damp with sweat, and her fingers ache as she unclenches her fists. The feeling of free-falling had been so real— _but it actually happened. After we slayed Otachi._

She flops on her back and stares at the ceiling, trying to adjust to her new surroundings: The Shatterdome's med bay. January 9. It's—she glances at her phone—13:21. She'd been asleep for about five hours. She glances at the hospital bed next to hers. Raleigh is passed out and snoring quietly.

Had it only been eight days ago that she'd found out Raleigh Becket was alive? And now here they were, not only Drifting again but piloting the very jaeger Mako had resurrected. To top it all off, she'd avenged her family using the sword she'd forged herself—one her father would've been proud of.

What a week it had been. Things had been moving so fast, between Lady Danger calibrations and the kaiju attacks, that she hadn't had time to process everything. But being confined to the med bay for the next eighteen hours… that would give her plenty of time to reflect.

First, there's Sensei. She'd tuned in to most of his and Raleigh's conversation while changing out of her drivesuit and into warm, dry clothes. She'd heard what Sensei had said about carrying on a legacy. But what he meant by that, she couldn't tell. Maybe he'd only told Raleigh because he knew where to find Jake. Maybe he wanted Raleigh to bring Jake home—especially if Sensei's condition worsened.

Then there's Jake. Her little brother had idolized Sensei as a kid. But no matter how hard Jake worked in school or sports, he never seemed to live up to Sensei's expectations. In the year leading up to her graduation, Mako would dread hearing Sensei's car pulling down the driveway—while Sensei and Jake's heated arguments had been bad enough, the bitter silences were worse.

Sensei had told Mako he had dismissed Jake from the Jaeger Academy. That was almost three years ago—the last time they'd spoken about him. Was Jake okay? Was he still at the house? Or had he fled as far from home as possible, just like Mako had when her best friend disappeared?

And then there's Raleigh. Her best friend. Her co-pilot. To Mako, it feels like months have passed since that fateful meeting on the tarmac, not days. Maybe it's the Drift—they'd caught up on each other's history in no time. Now here they are, as close as they'd been in college, if not closer.

But ever since their pilot tryouts, she'd had an unwelcome thought boring itself into her mind.

Sure, Raleigh is the kind of guy who's more affectionate. An arm around her shoulders, nudging her elbow, holding hands. But is all the affection purely platonic? He had flirted at her during one of their sparring sessions—had it been a cheap shot or an authentic admission?

After eight Drifts together, they had seen nearly every corner of each other's minds. All of their highest hopes and deepest fears. And the memories that even they themselves wanted to stay buried. Past loves are in there, too.

Mako knew from exploring Raleigh's memories what kind of relationships he preferred. Physical. Affectionate. Relationships like that reminded Mako of her awful dating experience.

It was high school. One of her shop classmates. He'd seemed nice enough, but on their third date, he'd wanted to get handsy. She could still recall the crescent-shaped nail marks she'd dug into her palms while waiting for Sensei to pick her up from the greasy diner.

Raleigh snorts and turns over. His blonde hair is a mess, and he's got a five o'clock shadow coming in around his cheeks and chin.

Mako sighs and pulls out her phone, picking a Spotify playlist to sing her back to sleep. Whatever feelings she has are irrelevant. It's their friendship she's worried about. Since befriending each other in college, they'd separated twice: for a month after a bad Drift, and for over three years after Yancy's death.

She couldn't do it a third time.

Mako had never believed in soulmates. She hadn't even formed an instant connection with her adopted family. But Drifting with Raleigh that first time, they had shared intimate memories and moments. Like Raleigh had said, they couldn't just walk away from that kind of connection. Mako couldn't speak for Raleigh, but those last four years apart had been a benign form of torture.

She finally settles on a Spotify playlist and does her best to push all those thoughts out of her mind. Unlike working with mechs, which have moving parts that she can easily figure out, dealing with emotions is far less simple. A problem like this she can't solve overnight. So instead, she focuses on the song lyrics. Soon, she's drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Just before hitting the ground after Leatherback pushes him off the precipice, Raleigh jolts awake. He glances at the clock in the hallway outside—15:27. He looks over at Mako. She's still curled up underneath the covers, although now she's facing away from him.

He's relieved she'd been sound asleep for the past seven hours. She deserves to rest after being deployed against two Category IVs, avenging her family, and learning her adopted father might be getting sicker.

Raleigh knows she'd been working non-stop over the past eight days since he arrived at the Shatterdome. Considering the girl he'd known in college, Raleigh figures she'd probably been working tirelessly for months restoring Lady Danger.

Pentecost's words come to mind as he watches over Mako: _Family members make the best co-pilots_. If Pentecost meant what Raleigh thought he meant…

Raleigh sighs. It's wishful thinking. They're best friends, nothing else. Besides, based on what he's seen in Mako's memories, romantic relationships are rarely on her mind.

She's always been incredibly focused—one of many things he admires about her. She never let anything get in her way of convincing Pentecost to let her pilot a jaeger, or of restoring Lady Danger, or of acing all of her college exams.

That also means that she'll never settle for anyone. Especially him.

Raleigh figured as much when they didn't have a touching reunion in the pouring rain. So he'd stolen whatever moments he could with her: sharing music and meals, piloting a jaeger, standing as close as she'd allow him to.

Yeah, he'd pried into her past relationship history during their last two Drifts. There's not much, but it's enough for him to know that she likes being alone. It's a miracle she even lets him throw his arm around her.

Raleigh sighs and stares up at the ceiling. What's that phrase? If you love someone, you have to let them go?

 _That's stupid,_ Yancy's ghost pipes up.

 _Yeah, no kidding_ , Raleigh replies. _But this is Mako we're talking about. There's no way she feels the same way I do._

_How about instead of assuming, you ask her, idiot?_

_Whatever, Yance_. Broaching that subject is hard enough with anyone. And he wouldn't dare risk it now, not before Operation Pitfall.

No, what he needs now is sleep. Telling Mako how he feels is a problem for another day. He takes a deep breath to clear his mind, then another. He's fast asleep in minutes.

* * *

A shout from the other hospital bed wakes Raleigh up. His dream is still dissolving around him as he falls out of bed and scrambles to his feet. "What's happening?"

"Sorry, Raleigh," Mako says. To his relief, she seems fine—she's sitting up, stretching, and looking well-rested. "I just remembered—today's the day I'm supposed to be flying back to Shao Industries."

Raleigh smirks. "Did you ever tell Shao you were, you know, piloting the jaeger you rebuilt?"

Mako grins sheepishly. "No. I didn't think we would ever be deployed. Think one of the med techs will bring me my tablet so I can send her an email?"

Raleigh is already paging one of the med techs. "I'm sure they will."

The med tech returns with Mako's tablet under one arm and mess hall trays in both hands. While they're scarfing down turkey sandwiches, the med tech gets them up to speed.

"You'll have to report to LOCCENT as soon as we release you tomorrow," he says. "The Marshal has new intel."

"From?" Raleigh says, his mouth full of lettuce.

"K-Science. Newt Geiszler apparently Drifted with a kaiju brain."

Mako chokes on her drink. "Seriously?" She coughs, wiping tears out of her eyes.

"Twice, actually." The med tech frowns. "Dr. Knight was livid that he didn't seek medical treatment the first time."

"You've got to be kidding me," Raleigh murmurs.

The med tech just shrugs. He's about to leave the room when a shout down the hallway grabs his attention. Mako and Raleigh just stare as Dr. Gottlieb storms past their hospital room. He's got one hand grasping his cane and another hooked firmly around Newt's shirt collar.

"C'mon, Hermann, I'm fine, this isn't nece—"

"You are not fine," Dr. Gottlieb growls. "You nearly passed out walking back to the Shatterdome. You haven't slept in three days, haven't eaten in twenty-four hours, and—"

"Ow, ow, ow! Seriously, the ear? What am I, a child?"

"Yes! We are getting you medical treatment this time."

"But—"

"But nothing. Sick bay, now."

"Looks like one of them has sense," the med tech mutters from the threshold. "Looks like that's where I'm headed. Are you two okay for now?"

Raleigh and Mako glance at each other. Okay can mean many things, so they're hoping the other hasn't figured out which definition they're thinking about. "Yeah," they say in unison.

The med tech smirks. "Great. Get some sleep. We'll run more tests tomorrow morning."

But sleep is the last thing on their minds.

"He Drifted with a kaiju brain?" Raleigh mutters. "Why?"

"You know why," Mako says, pushing her tray away. "Dr. Gottlieb called Newt a 'kaiju groupie.' He's always been fascinated by them. When I knew him at Shao Industries…"

Raleigh follows her train of thought: _I got tired of studying people and after hearing what happened with—Yancy yes I know—well I wanted to study kaiju—_

He shakes his head. "That's insane."

Mako lays back on her pillow and stares up at the ceiling. _It's hard enough Drifting with another human being. Merging minds, sharing memories with a kaiju?_  "What do you think he saw?"

"Well," Raleigh says, flopping back onto his hospital bed, "I guess we'll find out tomorrow morning."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Besides the "Stranger Things" elements, the fic timeline from here on out is the biggest canon deviation. (At least that's my impression. Based on the quick scene change from Raleigh and Mako returning to the Shatterdome to Tendo announcing the triple event, it seems like the two attacks were spaced just an hour apart. However, the war clock reads 03:23:58 when Chuck accosts Tendo. The Pacific Rim timeline wiki page says four days elapse between the double and triple events. I'm opting for the four-day span.)
> 
> Regardless, I wanted to give Raleigh and Mako time to react to what's just happened. Plus, there's no talk of medics in the movie. How did Chuck get his arm popped back into socket? Who administers and refills all those Metharocin prescriptions? Where do jaeger pilots get treated after coming back from a fight (not necessarily against the kaiju) all scraped up and bloody?
> 
> Side note, I started a solely Pacific Rim Tumblr account. If you want more Mako & Raleigh content, here you go: https://eadrey-the-iptscray.tumblr.com/ (WARNING: It is NOT spoiler-free.)


	8. We've Got a Week, If We're Lucky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **ON HIATUS UNTIL MARCH 29TH—SEE END CHAPTER NOTES**
> 
> * * *
> 
> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "Battle Scars" by Lupe Fiasco and Guy Sebastian  
> \- "Wasted Nights" by One OK Rock  
> \- "Shakey Ground" by The Temptations  
> \- "For Tonight" by Rhyms  
> \- "Lovely" by Billie Eilish and Khalid  
> \- "Blackbird" by The Beatles  
> \- "Worker Ant" by Hello Sleepwalkers  
> \- "Dancing With a Stranger" by Sam Smith and Normani

**FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2025**  
**THE SHATTERDOME MED BAY**

 

Their wounds appeared overnight, just like Dr. Knight had said. Heavy aches and tender burns shake them from sleep in the wee hours of the morning.

Mako stirs first and glances at the clock: 04:37. She winces as she sits up and stretches. The navy PPDC-issued sweater she'd changed into the day before is chafing against her skin. She lifts up her sweater gingerly to examine her ribs, and she hisses through her teeth when she sees how bad the damage is.

 _The drivesuit technology is more advanced than I thought_. Jagged red lines mimicking a predator's claw marks race up and down her left side, from her hip to her underarm. The circuitry burns have ruined her katana tattoo. _I need to get that touched up_. She frowns. _If I'm still around_.

Raleigh wakes up twenty minutes later, clearly feeling no better than Mako. Hazy memories three years, ten months, and thirteen days old, of charred skin and raw grief, ebb through the Ghost Drift.

Thanks to Otachi, Raleigh's right side matches Mako's left. His shoulder sports a nasty bruise in the spot where Lady Danger took a hit from Leatherback. Mako's left arm is similarly bruised where Otachi's prehensile tail coiled around the jaeger's arm. Between them, they have scorched shoulders, sore backs, and achy quads.

Mako peeks again at the angry claw marks along her ribs. _Will these leave scars?_ She realizes a second too late that she's voiced that thought to the wrong person. She glances at Raleigh and tries correcting herself, but he responds before she can apologize.

"The med techs have creams for scarring."

Mako looks away. Raleigh and Sensei—and Tam, when she was still alive—prefer hiding their drivesuit scars from naive eyes, Raleigh with thick wool sweaters and Sensei with crisp blue uniforms. Until now, Mako never truly understood why jaeger pilots considered scars burdens.

As a kid, Mako would marvel at Sensei's and Tam's drivesuit burns, hoping someday she could earn scars of her own to prove that she could be brave like them. After Sensei reprimanded Jake for voicing that same fantasy, Mako learned jaeger pilots' scars weren't trophies. They were memories forever etched into their skin, of battles barely won and of loved ones lost.

And now, she carries around the same burden. _No_ , she decides. _Battle scars are nothing to be ashamed of._

Raleigh looks like he's about to say something when Dr. Knight knocks on the door. A small army of med techs follows him in.

"How are we feeling this morning?" It's a rhetorical question; a glance at the blood-red burns on their skin and exhaustion in their eyes gives him the answer. "We just need to run some tests. After that, you can head to LOCCENT for debriefing. But take it easy, you two."

Mako and Raleigh once again let the med techs poke and prod them to check their blood pressure, temperature, and radiation levels. When they're finished, and when Dr. Knight orders them to rest up after their impromptu Operation Pitfall strategy meeting, Raleigh and Mako race out of the med bay toward LOCCENT.

The news isn't good.

"What do you mean, 'it won't work'?" Chuck seems intent on burning a hole through Newt; the K-Scientist shrinks under his glare. "We've spent all this time strategizing, and you're only telling us this now?"

Newt crosses his arms, showing off his kaiju tattoos. "Look, the only reason we know any of this is because we Drifted with a kaiju brain. And, as it turns out, the Breach isn't an anomaly, it's the first of many."

He's speaking so quickly Raleigh can barely keep up. "The Precursors have harnessed their planet's energy to open a portal into our reality—that's why the Anteverse looks so much like Earth, because it is. Well, not exactly, it's actually—"

"To the point, Dr. Geiszler," Pentecost sighs.

"Right, right. Okay, so think about what happens if you punch a hole through a mirror. You'd hit a wall. But the Precursors have somehow found a way to interact with the reflection."

He points to the image on Tendo's holo-screen. "This hole in the mirror, the Breach, it takes massive amounts of energy to stay open, so the Precursors have set up what we're calling a mining colony nearby."

Dr. Gottlieb picks up the conversation while Newt catches his breath. "We've discovered that this mining colony is in the same location in the Anteverse as Port Renfrew on Earth. Destroy the mining colony and—"

"And we can seal the Breach for good." Herc nods.

Dr. Gottlieb shakes his head as Newt says, "for good? No."

Silence fills the command center. Both pilot pairs turn to each other, their eyes wide.

Raleigh glances at Mako, who's clenching her jaw and staring straight past Newt and Dr. Gottlieb through LOCCENT's massive window. It's hard to tell what's on her mind—the Ghost Drift is a torrent of thoughts. They're rushing by so fast that Raleigh can't distinguish one thought from another.

He nudges her gently and does his best to send her calming thoughts her way. She doesn't respond.

"This mining colony," Newt continues, "is on the verge of collapse. The cliff marking the Perimeter, it's actually a crack in the earth's—er, Anteverse's—crust. The Precursors are siphoning energy from the planet's core, and it's literally tearing their world apart. Sure, destroying the mining colony will close the Breach, but the Precursors can just create another one using any of the hundreds of mining colonies they've built around the planet."

"Then why not just wait for the planet to collapse on itself?" Chuck blurts out. Like his father, he's got his arms crossed and eyebrows knit. But while Herc looks resigned, Chuck looks livid.

Dr. Gottlieb answers him. "The Precursors—they are implacable in a way no human being could ever be. Their desire for our universe is more like an elemental force than a mere sense of self-preservation. They cannot be dissuaded."

He glances at Newt, who responds with an _I told you so_ look. Raleigh's seen that kind of interaction before—only with pilots communicating through the Ghost Drift. _Is that why they're so in sync, because he and Newt Drifted with a kaiju brain?_

Mako just shrugs.

"Like Newton said," Dr. Gottlieb continues, "if we manage to close the Breach, they will open another one. And when they return, I fear the rules might be entirely different. Everything we've done might not be enough."

 _The kaiju will come back_. The realization chills Raleigh to the bone. _And we won't have enough jaegers to hold them off._

"So what do we do?" Tendo's voice cracks ever so slightly, betraying the fear that he and no doubt everyone else in LOCCENT feels.

"Here's the bad news." Newt fiddles with the holo-screen until it shows a globe covered in hundreds of red dots. "These mining colonies are located far away from the Precursors' central hub—what we're calling the Hive. Most of the survivors are holed up where our Mt. Fuji would be."

He points to a pulsing orange dot on the other side of the globe. "But the good news is that the Precursors' Mt. Fuji is a volcano, too. Massive amounts of geothermal energy."

Dr. Gottlieb once again jumps in. "Newton and I hypothesize that although the Anteverse equivalent of Mt. Fuji is dormant like ours, it has the potential to erupt given the right catalyst. That would trigger the Ring of Fire, and thus trigger the collapse of their world."

"A catalyst—you mean, like a bomb?" Raleigh asks. "Where would we get firepower like that?"

Pentecost steps out from behind the K-Scientists to address everyone else in LOCCENT. "The Kaidonovskys…" He clears his throat. A few people, Raleigh included, shift uncomfortably where they're standing. "I reached out to their, erm, contact. Firepower is not the issue, Mr. Becket."

Chuck voices what they're all thinking. "Then what is?"

"Time," Mako murmurs.

Pentecost nods solemnly. "Closing the Breach is still our best option. That will give us a little time to find a long-term solution."

Murmurs ripple through LOCCENT. Although Raleigh can't make out what everyone is saying, he figures they're all discussing whether Operation Pitfall is a suicide mission. With four jaegers they had a chance. But with two?

Mako is clearly reading between the lines. _We need more jaegers, more funding, and more politicians on our side. Without them, there's no way we can destroy the Anteverse._

"Ladies, gentlemen," Pentecost calls over the din. Silence falls inside the command center. "I realize this is bleak news. But we always knew Operation Pitfall would be risky."

His gaze settles on Mako. "Our plan now is to send Striker Eureka and Lady Danger into the mining colony. As we've discussed before, we cannot detonate the payload remotely. That's why we will strap the payload to Striker's back, start the countdown, and jettison the escape pods before detonation."

 _Suicide mission, indeed_ , Raleigh thinks bitterly.

"Tendo, how long until both jaegers are fully functioning?"

"Two days, sir," Tendo answers, pulling up the jaegers' damage reports on his computer. "Striker's systems are still malfunctioning after that EMP. Once we get those back online, we'll ready the payload."

"I need it done in twenty-four hours." Pentecost throws an apologetic look at Mako, who nods curtly.

 _Glad you got caught up on sleep_ , Raleigh tells Mako. _Looks like you've got a long night ahead._

She nods slowly, still not wholly paying attention. The Ghost Drift roars between their ears.

* * *

Mako stifles a yawn as she pores over Lady Danger’s damage report. It's been ages since she'd had a good night's sleep, even by her standards. But it might be another day before she can catch up.

 _If at all_.

Before she can push that thought from her mind, Tendo sees her pained expression.

"Hey, sister, you okay?”

 _Is anyone who was in LOCCENT okay after that debriefing?_ Like Sensei, she'd believed that Operation Pitfall would effectively end the Kaiju War, even if the mission did come with heavy casualties. Sending four jaegers into unknown territory would have been risky enough—now they're down to two.

Raleigh, she knows, came to the same conclusion during their debriefing. Although he'd tried his best to hide it, he couldn't help thinking Operation Pitfall would be a suicide mission.

“No," she eventually says. "I should have been more diligent about restoring Chrome Brutus, Nova Hyperion, and Hydra Corinthian.”

She glances at the two Mark IVs gathering dust in the bays next to Lady Danger's. The Mark III is in a similar state on the other end of the Shatterdome. “We could have had three more jaegers fighting Leatherback and Otachi. If I hadn’t been so preoccupied with wanting to be a pilot—“

“Yeah, but we needed you to be a pilot, Mako." Tendo squeezes her shoulder gently. "Raleigh needed you. You saw those other pilot candidates. They might be Drift Compatible, but there’s no way they could’ve taken on two kaiju like you two did."

Out of politeness, she returns a small smile. But Tendo's words don't make her feel any better. _If we'd had those three extra jaegers, the Weis and Kaidonovskys might still be alive._

She glances at the damage report again. “We need more time. And more J-Techs."

“We do. But we have to make do with what we’ve got. Speaking of which…” Tendo holds up his tablet. “I could use your help with Striker if you've got a minute.”

It's a welcome distraction that eats up a couple of hours. But it’s not long before Mako returns to Lady Danger. The list of repairs is a mile long. Raleigh had been right—it would be a long night.

Thoughts of Operation Pitfall's likely failure and Lady Danger's extensive damage churn around the Ghost Drift. A small part of Mako is grateful; the maelstrom is likely hiding her personal woes from Raleigh. That's the only silver lining she's seen all day.

It's only been three hours since she'd left Raleigh back in LOCCENT, but she feels his absence like the burns on her side.

 _Drift Hangover_. That's what pilots usually experience after a mission—an intense longing to stay connected, and usually physically. There's a reason, she'd heard a fellow cadet say during her Jaeger Academy days, that co-pilots who weren't siblings were married.

 _There are plenty of exceptions_ , she thinks as she runs diagnostic tests. Pang So-Yi and An Yuna, Nova Hyperion's pilots. Joshua Griffin and Tyler Zachery, Vulcan Specter's pilots. Sensei and Tam. Family by bond, not necessarily blood or covenant.

Is that what she and Raleigh are—like family? After merging their minds during those Drift experiments in college, they'd quickly skipped from acquaintances to best friends. They knew intimate details about each other, from how they feel about their parents to who first broke their heart. Not even siblings could say that.

The alternative is, of course, being romantic partners, but Mako has had enough of thinking about what that kind of relationship entails. She finds herself fixating on that thought, anyway.

Her phone alarm buzzes, snapping her out of her thoughts. It's 12:45. Almost time for lunch with Raleigh. _But we have twenty-one hours left. I can't afford any distractions._

What she needs is music to keep her focused. After hitting Shuffle Play on her Tinkering playlist, Mako lets The Temptations wash away all but thoughts of Lady Danger's repairs.

* * *

Out in the bitter cold to clear his head, Raleigh hears "Shakey Ground" float through the Ghost Drift. He smiles to himself. _It's nice hearing her music in my mind again._

After their second Drift in college, Raleigh had woken up from a Sunday nap with a J-pop song stuck in his head. It turned out Mako had been listening to it while studying. "RPG" had too much autotune for his taste, but it was relaxing enough for him to study by.

It was also one of the first songs Mako had added to the shared playlist she created a few days ago—a great decision on her part. He wishes he had a phone on him so he could listen to it on his run.

He also wishes Mako were out here with him. He'd wanted to scream when she'd left LOCCENT with Tendo and the other J-Techs, but she needed to restore Lady Danger before Operation Pitfall.

 _Maybe we can listen to music again at lunch_. After a day like today, all he wants to do is spend time with his best friend. To forget about the fact that the next time they step into Lady Danger's Conn-Pod will likely be their last.

Raleigh finds Mako in Lady Danger's Conn-Pod a little after 13:00. She's rolled her jumpsuit sleeves up and is wearing the same determined look as during their serious study sessions at Irvine Library. Judging by the Japanese metal surging through the Ghost Drift, Raleigh figures now's not a good time to distract her.

So he trudges to the mess hall. Alone. It's now been three hours since leaving LOCCENT without her, and he misses her proximity like crazy—he's felt Drift Hangovers before, sure, but never as strong as this one. So Raleigh is grateful that Herc and Chuck let him join them at Striker Eureka's table.

"One thing they didn't cover this morning," Chuck mutters with a mouth full of mashed potatoes, "is who's gonna be my co-pilot."

Aside from nodding at the empty seat next to Herc, Chuck hasn't acknowledged Raleigh at all during lunch. The two may be on better terms, but that doesn't mean Chuck is going to act buddy-buddy with his former co-pilot's brother. So Raleigh figures he's talking to his father.

Herc doesn't respond, which doesn't escape Chuck's or Raleigh's notice. Chuck opens his mouth to say something, but Herc beats him to it.

"You'll find out tomorrow. No sense speculating about it now."

That doesn't shut Chuck up, though. "You can't ride with a broken—"

"I said you'll find out tomorrow." Herc stabs at the fruit on his tray and breaks his fork in the process. Every eye turns to the Striker Eureka table when the Australian swears loudly. Equally irritated, Chuck storms out of the mess hall, with Max following at his heels.

Raleigh finishes his meal in silence. _Chuck's got a point. Herc can't ride with a broken arm. So who's going to be Chuck's co-pilot?_

That thought keeps his mind off Operation Pitfall, at least for the next couple of hours. With his co-pilot hard at work restoring their jaeger, and with both of them on doctor's orders to take it easy, Raleigh finds himself back in his quarters, staring up at the ceiling.

Sleep is once again eluding him. After an hour of tossing and turning, he gives up trying to rest. A sobering thought occurs to him, about what he's been avoiding since setting foot into the Shatterdome. There's no sense in avoiding it now.

Reluctantly, he drags out his old work coat and warmest sweaters. He has a cold hike ahead of him.

* * *

_I'm glad I kept this thing_ , he muses as he trudges across the frozen forest floor. His PPDC jacket would never keep out the frigid winds blowing through Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, and he can't bring himself to wear Lady Danger's leather jacket again.

He keeps to the narrow path winding through the dense forest, far from the now-overgrown West Coast Trail and still-fresh trail to the Breach. The half-mile trek feels much longer than he remembers. Maybe it's because it's the first time he's making it alone.

The PPDC's Memorial Garden is filled with uniform rows of headstones. The clearing is much larger than Raleigh remembers; it's now the size of a basketball court, with more than a dozen rows of headstones filling the space. Taking a deep breath, he pushes aside the gate and steps inside.

The headstones in the first row are the most ornate, since they honor the first fallen heroes. There's Luna Pentecost and members of her squadron, who died when Trespasser escaped the Breach; Adam Casey, the first Jaeger Program casualty; and Duc and Kaori Jessop, Tacit Ronin's first pilots. Raleigh bows his head as he passes by.

The further he ventures into the Memorial Garden, the more modest the headstones become. With less funding and more fatalities, the PPDC just couldn't honor fallen jaeger pilots and strike crew like they could in the early days of the Kaiju War.

 _I need to remind Tendo about the memorial plaque Yancy suggested_. Many of the headstones, he notices, are starting to mildew. Vines are encroaching on the ones closest to the garden walls. The trinkets left behind by mourners have since deteriorated.

A third of the way through the Memorial Garden, he finds the headstone he's looking for:

 **Yancy Becket**  
**Nov. 7, 1998 - Feb. 28, 2021**  
**Pilot of Lady Danger | 2019 - 2021**

He brushes the dead leaves and dried flowers away before sitting in front of his older brother's headstone. It takes him a minute before he musters up the courage to speak.

“Hey, Yance," he croaks.

 _Wow, Rals_ , Yancy’s ghost responds. _First my picture and now my grave. You must really miss me, huh?_

“Yeah, well.” Raleigh rubs the back of his neck. “I should've come to see you after Knifehead, but…" He sighs. "I figured I should do this before Operation Pitfall.”

Silence on Yancy’s end.

“I, uh, don’t think we’ll get lucky this time. We’re down to two jaegers, and we have to go into unknown territory to destroy the Breach.” He shakes his head. "That's the gist of it. Apparently Newt found that out after Drifting with a kaiju.”

_He did what?!_

Raleigh smirks despite himself. “Yeah, I thought it was crazy, too. But apparently the original plan would never have worked. And this is where it gets bleak.”

Again, silence.

“The only way to close the Breach is to blow up whatever's powering it—K-Science is calling it a mining colony. With two jaegers against however many kaiju… we don't stand a chance.”

No response.

“C’mon, Yance, talk to me.”

 _I’m dead, remember? I may be in your head, but I can't tell you what to do. Like I said, you have to figure things out for yourself. And that includes how you feel about Mako_.

Now it’s Raleigh’s turn to fall silent.

_You still haven’t made a move, have you?_

Bitter memories of his and Yancy's big fight resurface. It happened during one of their first combat simulations in the Jaeger Academy. Something during that simulation reminded Yancy of Naomi Sokolov, and all Raleigh could see was his brother and his high school crush making out in Yancy's car.

Raleigh had decked him right there in the simulator. They'd almost been kicked out of the Jaeger Academy because of it.

“It’s not like that—“

_I know how you feel about Mako, Rals. You’ve been in love with her since college._

“That’s not—“

_I've been in your brain. Believe me, kid, I know. You'd do anything for your co-pilot._

“And it’s because she’s my co-pilot that I haven’t said anything,” Raleigh murmurs.

In the silence, he hears a familiar melody float through the Ghost Drift: _Blackbird singing in the dead of night…_

It's a song he hasn't heard since college. Back then, he'd listen to it whenever he felt lonely. Only this time, it makes him feel worse.

“We only have a week before Pitfall, if we’re lucky.”

 _So make your move_.

“I have. It’s giving her space.” Raleigh plucks a few dead weeds from around his brother's headstone. _We’ll be dead after this mission, anyway._

_Raleigh—_

He sighs, watching his icy breath drift into the frigid air. The winter wind whistles through the trees around him, and he pulls his coat tighter around his shoulders.

“I still miss you, Yance," Raleigh says after a moment.

 _I know you do, kid_.

He wants to say that he’ll see his brother again. That he can finally fill the Yancy-shaped hole in his soul. It's bad enough that his brother died too soon, but Raleigh has already outlived Yancy by three years.

But he just found Mako again. And no matter how much he misses his brother, he wouldn't trade his best friend for anything.

So all he says before heading back to the Shatterdome is, “thanks for everything, Yance.”

* * *

When Mako looks up from her half-completed repair checklist, it's a little past 18:00. Lady Danger's bay is empty save for a few J-Techs who are also working through dinner. As she takes out her headphones, the underlying _shushing_ sound of the Ghost Drift replaces the rapid drumbeats of Hello Sleepwalkers' "Worker Ant."

A shock of blonde hair grabs her attention. It's Raleigh, walking in with two trays full of food. Mako's growling stomach reminds her that she never got around to eating lunch.

"Thank you, Raleigh." She meets him on the Shatterdome floor and plucks one of the trays out of his hands. "I worked straight through lunch."

"Yeah, I know. But you looked like you were busy fixing—hey, where are you going?"

She eyes him from halfway up the mezzanine staircase. "Back to work. Lady Danger—"

"Nope." Raleigh beckons to their usual spot at the far end of the Shatterdome. "You're sitting down and eating a proper meal."

"Raleigh—"

"Ten minutes. Then you can go."

She swears under her breath in Japanese, but she follows him anyway.

They both scarf down their food, glad to have a few minutes' break from the chaos they've found themselves in since leaving the med bay. Has it only been twelve hours? It feels like so much longer.

Raleigh breaks their silence first. "How are the repairs going?"

"Lady Danger is almost fully functional." Mako gnaws at the roll in her hands. "We're having some trouble with the reactor core settings. They were likely damaged when Leatherback tried to shove us off the cliff. But we'll find a solution."

"Of course you will." Raleigh grins at her. "You're the best. If you can't figure it out, no one can."

Mako doesn't reply. There's that gray area again—is he saying this as a friend? Or is he flirting with her again, like that time in the Kwoon?

"You okay?" Raleigh asks. He's already finished his dinner and is just staring at her. Like he's trying to pick her thoughts apart. "You seem like you have a lot on your mind."

"We do have thirteen hours left to restore both jaegers." It's true. She's been thinking about Lady Danger's repairs all day. Of course, she's had other things on her mind, too—mainly how she feels about Raleigh. That she wants to figure out before they Drift again.

 _Which will be Operation Pitfall_ , her mind unhelpfully supplies. She shakes that thought away, but not before Raleigh hears it.

"I've been thinking about it all day, too. Want to talk about it?" Raleigh throws an arm around her shoulders, but Mako sucks in a breath like she'd just jumped into the Pacific Ocean. He jerks his arm back. "Sorry. I didn't mean—"

"No, it's—no." Mako tugs at his wrist and lets his arm settle back around her. "It's fine."

It's clear that he senses her tension. At least he doesn't know why she's tense _—_ or so she hopes. The Ghost Drift could be helpfully vague at times.

After a minute, she decides she can't sit here any longer.

"I should be getting back. My ten minutes are up." She doesn't meet his eyes as she stands. "Thanks for bringing me dinner."

"Make sure to get some sleep, okay?" Raleigh calls from behind her. "And power naps don't count!"

A memory of a wood-paneled library, empty and silent except for the noisy ticking of a grandfather clock, floats through the Ghost Drift. Mako smiles wistfully at the memory, when times were simpler and they weren't aware the world was about to end.

Then it's gone, replaced with a deluge of uncertainty and the sound of whirring machinery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part Three keeps expanding due to all the emotional weight that's going into these chapters. And since these chapters are longer than in previous parts (4,000-5,000 words!), I need some time to catch up. I'll be back to my regular posting schedule in a couple of weeks.
> 
> Fair warning, this chapter has more angst than the others. Our heroes are gearing up for Operation Pitfall, after all.
> 
> Thank you for keeping up with this series, as always. I truly appreciate you sticking with it.
> 
> \- eadreytheiptscray
> 
> P.S. Follow me on Tumblr and let's talk about all things Pacific Rim: https://eadrey-the-iptscray.tumblr.com/
> 
> * * *
> 
> Whew, this chapter was a doozy to write. The only canon content I used was one of Dr. Gottlieb's quotes from the "Pacific Rim Uprising" novel about the Precursors. Other than that, it's all original. Hope you enjoy!


	9. The Apocalypse Came Early

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "You're on My Mind" by Passenger  
> \- "Lost Without You" by Freya Ridings  
> \- "Lose You" by Eric Nam  
> \- "War of Hearts" by Ruelle  
> \- "Still" by Dave Baxter  
> \- "Waste It on Me" by Steve Aoki and BTS  
> \- "Possibility" by BoA and Daichi Miura  
> \- "Canceling the Apocalypse" by Ramin Djawadi

**SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2025**  
**RALEIGH BECKET'S ROOM, FORMER J-TECH QUARTERS**

 

The worst part about sharing a strong connection is sharing the other's sleep deprivation, as Raleigh quickly discovers. It's just shy of 04:00 and he hasn't slept more than an hour straight. The constant droning through the Ghost Drift, likely a mix of machinery and Mako's music, has kept him up all night.

That and his still-fresh circuitry burns.

It's around 04:30 when the noise in his head changes. No longer a steady droning, it's a gentle shushing of warm thoughts, like little waves lapping at a sandy shoreline. Elation—Lady Danger and Striker Eureka must be fully restored.

Raleigh groans and sits up. There's no way he's going back to sleep with the Ghost Drift churning like this, so he throws on a sweater to head outside for a run.

And maybe to see Mako, who's ambling down the hallway in a daze.

Stray strands of hair dance around her head in the staticky air. There's a grease smear on her cheek and a matching stain on the back of her right hand. Despite the exhaustion etched into her face, there's a spark in her eye. It's the same look she used to get after a long night of productive studying.

Mako pauses on the steps to her quarters as Raleigh emerges from his room. "Hey," she says, stifling a yawn. "Can't sleep?"

Raleigh shakes his head. "I'm going for a run." He doesn't give her a chance to voice her question. "No, go to sleep—you've been up for almost twenty-four hours."

"I still feel antsy."

"Really?" Raleigh crosses his arms. "You look like you're about to pass out."

Mako mimics his pose, and Raleigh barely hides his smirk. "I might," she says, "in an hour. But you remember our college study sessions…"

The hallway briefly vanishes, replaced by a wood-paneled library. An ancient wooden table materializes in front of them, complete with its vintage brass lamps and an old coffee stain. (Raleigh still regrets bringing Starbucks to that Saturday night study session. That librarian will probably hold a grudge until the end of time itself.)

The memory fades just as quickly as it had appeared.

"At least go to bed, Mako. You'll probably fall asleep quicker than you think."

Mako looks like she's about to say something, but she purses her lips and nods instead. "If you say so. Goodnight, Raleigh… or I guess good morning."

He makes a show out of watching her turn in, wearing as stoic of an expression as he can muster. Once her door locks with a _clank_ , he chuckles and stalks down the hallway, out into the dark January morning.

The warm feeling in his chest doesn't stick around long.

Time seems as frozen as the world around him; he feels like he'll never lap the Shatterdome. The winter air bites at his hands— _I should've worn gloves_ , he thinks—and fills his lungs with icy needles, but he doesn't stop running. Frosty leaves and twigs crunch underfoot as he jogs across the uneven terrain.

_You still haven't made a move, have you?_

Raleigh huffs. A cloud of steam billows behind him. _Shut up, Yance._

_If you're right and you only have a few days—_

_Knock it off._

_Sneak out of the 'Dome and go see her—Chuck and I'll cover for you._

Raleigh stumbles over a small hill. That isn't Yancy's ghost talking this time. When did his brother tell him that?

 _Oh. Christmas,_ he realizes, _the one where Mako and I fell asleep while Skyping. Four years and seventeen days ago._

Yancy had found him fast asleep in the tech lounge and practically drooling on the keyboard. After shaking Raleigh awake, Yancy had dragged him back to the quarters they shared with Chuck.

The old memory is fuzzy, but Raleigh can still picture the scene: It's just past 02:30 on Christmas morning, and a slightly buzzed Yancy is doing his best to steer a sleepy Raleigh into Lady Danger's quarters. There are WWII bomber posters coloring the gray concrete walls, festive red and green tinsel draped haphazardly on their steel bunks, and crudely wrapped brown paper packages piled in a corner.

Propped up on his elbow on the second bunk bed in their cramped quarters, Chuck is smirking as the Becket brothers stumble into the room. "Where'd you find him, Yance?"

"Fast asleep in front of a computer." Yancy grins mischievously. "Guess who he was talking to?"

Chuck mimics Yancy's impish smile as he turns to Raleigh. "That chick from college?"

"Yep," Yancy replies.

"Oh, you've got it bad for her, Ray."

"Knock it off," Raleigh tells them, crawling onto the bottom bunk and flopping onto his stomach. "It's not like that. Mako and I are just friends."

It's quiet in Lady Danger's quarters. Raleigh figures Chuck and Yancy are sharing dubious looks, but he doesn't bother peeking up from his mattress to check.

"Do 'friends' stay up chatting 'til half-past two on Christmas morning?" Chuck calls across to him.

"Best friends do," Raleigh murmurs into his pillow.

"Look." Yancy squats down so he's at eye level with his brother. "Whatever… thing you've got with Mako... it's obvious you miss her."

"What gave you that impression?"

Yancy ignores his sarcastic comment. "It's been a while since you saw her, right?"

 _Seven and a half months_ , he thinks bitterly. "Yeah."

"So sneak out of the 'Dome and go see her—Chuck and I'll cover for you. Do it during the Christmas party tonight."

"Hey, now, Becket—"

"Shut up, Chuck." Yancy stares down his former co-pilot. "You'd do the same for me."

Chuck mutters something under his breath before dropping back on his mattress. He scoots back until his cast—mostly white save for a few chicken-scratch Sharpie marks Yancy swears is his handwriting—is in the dead center of his pillow.

"So," Yancy says, turning back to his brother. "What do you say, kid?"

The last thing Raleigh sees before shaking the memory out of his head is his brother's smug grin. The cheery quarters of years ago dissolve, replaced by the bitter reality of a world without Yancy.

Raleigh fights back an ache in his chest as he jogs back inside the Shatterdome. _Now I feel worse. Maybe I should take my own advice and get some sleep._

* * *

Just as she predicted, after staying up for almost twenty-four hours straight, Mako is too wired to fall asleep. That doesn't mean she isn't exhausted. It had been easier to pull all-nighters in college.

The power naps she'd taken hadn't helped. Every time she would shut her eyes, she would find herself inside Irvine Library, Lady Danger's quarters, or the stark white labs of Olympia Hall. The memories themselves weren't the problem.

Waking up realizing the world's about to end and that these happy memories are all she can cling to—that had left her more drained than the sleep deprivation.

All night, one sobering phrase kept trickling through the Ghost Drift: _We have a week, if we're lucky_. She'd heard it from Sensei during Raleigh's Shatterdome tour. Maybe Raleigh had been thinking back on it, too.

_By that prediction, we only have until Wednesday._

With that thought, all hope of sleep leaves Mako's mind. Operation Pitfall is four days away. Even if they did manage to destroy the Precursors' mining colony, there's no way all four pilots will get out of the Anteverse alive. Who knows how many kaiju are out there, ready to take them down?

Mako finds herself missing being back in college. Even attending engineering lectures. At the time, they'd been mentally taxing. But now that she's staring Death in the face, everything else seems trivial by comparison.

Mako sits up in bed and huffs. There's no way she's sleeping now.

She could distract herself with the latest jaeger improvements. On her desk is a scaled-down prototype of a Mark VI jaeger's primary weapon, a ball-and-chain Shao fondly calls the Morning Star. Up until last month, Titan Redeemer had been one of Mako's major projects.

 _But I won't get to finish it_ , she thinks morosely. _Sensei's right—there are too many loose ends that need tying up._

Music, she figures, is the only thing that can make her feel even the tiniest bit better. So she soon finds herself pulling up the playlist Raleigh created for her all those years ago.

Mako glances at the artists: Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Sam & Dave, Sam Cooke, The Temptations. She recognizes all of their songs now; she had listened to this playlist repeatedly in college. Raleigh had been right—soul is good for focusing.

_Combat soundtrack._

That thought embeds itself in Mako's mind. The Kaidonovskys had used one. Why shouldn't she and Raleigh? If they're going to step through the Breach and leave Earth behind one last time, they might as well take a piece of their home world with them.

And so for the next few hours, Mako buries herself under her covers, her phone in her hand and music on her mind.

* * *

Mako and Raleigh resume their demanding Ranger schedules at 09:00. Ranger Lambert had been kind enough to let them off the hook for missing yet another morning sparring session, on account of Mako repairing Lady Danger all night. But both Raleigh and Mako have their minds elsewhere, and they leave the Kwoon Combat Room feeling dejected for different reasons.

Four hours of strategy planning does little to calm the storm of anxiety brewing in the Ghost Drift. It only confirms Mako's fear and Raleigh's hunch that Operation Pitfall is a suicide mission. Even though it's 13:00 when the meeting ends, lunch is the last thing on their minds.

Mako thinks of the idea first, inclining her head to the call buttons as they step inside the elevator with the remaining jaeger pilots and strike group leaders.

 _Let's do it_ , Raleigh responds. Mako presses the button for Floor B, and the elevator doors open with a _hiss_ a few seconds later.

If the rest of the elevator's occupants are wondering what they're up to, they don't bother voicing their curiosity.

Once inside the Kwoon Combat Room, Raleigh and Mako silently step out of their shoes and retrieve hanbōs from the rack. The room is empty. Not even Ranger Lambert is lurking in the corner, with his eyes trained on them like a hawk's and his hands clasped firmly behind his back.

Raleigh and Mako begin the match by bowing to each other, then half-heartedly stepping into defensive stances. It goes without saying that neither of them plan to keep score.

A soft _swish_ through the air announces Raleigh's first move. Mako raises her hanbō to block his attack, and their staffs collide with a _thud_. The sound echoes in the empty Kwoon.

Raleigh resets quicker than Mako and steps forward, bringing his hanbō down inches from her forehead. Like the move he made just days ago at their pilot tryouts.

She flinches. _One-zero._

"Hey." Raleigh straightens and hits the butt of his hanbō on the mat. "I thought we weren't keeping score."

Mako drops her guard, too. "Force of habit."

She resets when Raleigh does, and this time she makes the first move. Raleigh blocks her attack and side-steps around her, but Mako finally finds her focus. She parries and lunges. Raleigh, however, is using the Ghost Drift to his advantage; he easily anticipates her next attack.

"You're not concentrating," he says.

Mako huffs, and a strand of electric-blue hair flies away from her face. Another deluge of thoughts rushes through the Ghost Drift, and the roar momentarily distracts them both. With a shake of her head, the torrent dies down. "Ready."

They exchange rapid-fire blows for the next minute, the _thwacks_ and _clacks_ reverberating around the Kwoon. When Raleigh makes his third unanswered point, he says, "let's take a break."

He gingerly lowers himself onto the mat and tosses his hanbō to the side. Mako doesn't move.

"What's wrong?"

Worry is etched into every line in Raleigh's face, and his brilliant blue eyes are filled with concern. Mako can't redirect the tide of thoughts this time, and Raleigh catches one closest to the surface.

"'Four days'?"

Mako sighs and collapses onto the mat next to Raleigh. "Until Operation Pitfall. If all goes according to K-Science's predictions."

Raleigh nods slowly. "You've been thinking about that, too, huh?"

"How could I not?" She takes a deep breath, then another. The roaring in her ears quiets down, but only for a moment. "We have two jaegers left. Even if we work around the clock to restore the other three, they won't be finished in time."

"Mako—"

"I know, we can't afford to think like that." She sighs and curls into a ball, resting her chin on her knees. Her side and shoulders sting where her sweat-stained tank top brushes against her circuitry burns. "But I can't help it."

The Kwoon falls silent. Not knowing what else to do, Raleigh reaches for his co-pilot. And then he remembers how she flinched at his touch yesterday. He brings his arm back to his side.

"We'll take it one day at a time, then," Raleigh murmurs. "I know we've both got a lot on our minds. But we've still got each other." He swivels around to face her. "And four whole days until Operation Pitfall. Which reminds me…"

Raleigh catches her up on the conversation between Chuck and Herc the day before. "We don't know who's going to be Chuck's co-pilot. Any ideas?"

Sensei comes to mind, and Mako's stomach lurches. But she decides not to chase that thought until she knows for sure. "I imagine we'll find out in"—she glances at her phone—"fifteen minutes."

"We should probably grab something to eat, then." Raleigh stands and helps Mako to her feet. After they've both laced up their shoes and returned their hanbōs, they saunter in sync to the mess hall.

* * *

Just when she thought she'd heard enough bad news in the past twenty-four hours, Mako realizes at least one pilot definitely won't be surviving Operation Pitfall.

"So you're gonna be my co-pilot, huh, Marshal?" Chuck has dropped his typical brash tone, probably because he's addressing Sensei in front of a room full of people. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Sensei fixes Chuck with a piercing stare. Mako figures he won't let slip the reason why. Surprisingly, though, he does.

"Tying up loose ends takes time," Sensei says solemnly.

 _'Loose ends'—does this mean he's reached out to Jake? It would be nice to see him before Operation Pitfall._ The last time Mako had seen her little brother, it had been over Skype three years ago. She hadn't seen him in person since she graduated college.

And that's when the tears come. She bites back a sob rising in her throat. Underneath the conference room table, Raleigh reaches out hesitantly, but Mako grabs his hand like her life depends on it.

 _Getting into that jaeger will kill him_ , she tells Raleigh.

He squeezes her hand twice. _I know._

Of course he does—Sensei had told him. Raleigh also knows that Sensei had been managing his symptoms on Metharocin. Instead of succumbing to radiation poisoning after a few months, Sensei had lived eight years, defying the odds and doctors' predictions.

And now he's sentencing himself to death.

Mako doesn't meet Sensei's gaze during the rest of the strategy meeting. In fact, she doesn't remember much of anything after Sensei's announcement. She devotes all of her energy to keeping up her stoic facade, which drops the moment she races out of the conference room. Raleigh's hand is the only thing keeping her grounded.

That's when it clicks. Like the cogs in the clocks she would tinker with as a kid, everything she'd been contemplating about her relationship with Raleigh finally falls into place.

Raleigh apparently notices her tension vanish, because he flashes her a small smile as they slink into Lady Danger's bay with their dinner trays.

For the first few minutes, they eat in comfortable silence, enjoying being alone in each other's company. Now that Lady Danger has been fully restored, there are no J-Techs scrambling over the jaeger's hull or tinkering with the systems inside the Conn-Pod. The entire Shatterdome, actually, is unusually quiet.

"Reminds me of that time we went to Beacham Student Center during exams," Raleigh muses, gazing out at the nearly empty space.

Mako frowns as she props her elbows on her knees. Even though that night had ended well, it's not a memory she thinks of fondly.

It had been a cold December evening, and she'd felt miserable after studying in the crowded library for five hours. What had been worse, though, was sitting across from Raleigh for those five hours—they hadn't been on speaking terms then, and most of their dinner conversation that night had been small talk.

What she wouldn't give to go back in time, when all they were worried about was a bad Drift.

"College seems like a lifetime ago," she murmurs.

"Yeah." After a few seconds, Raleigh chuckles. "If you'd have told me back then that I would be a jaeger pilot, I would've laughed." He turns to face Mako. "I mean, me, a history major? Saving the world in a giant robot?"

Mako smirks. "Or that I'd be one, too. Building a jaeger, now that I could see myself doing. But riding one?" She rolls her eyes and finishes the last of her dinner.

"Now look at us both." Raleigh gestures to Lady Danger, which is resting a few meters from where they're sitting.

Mako sighs. Fonder memories flow through the Ghost Drift now, of brisk autumn nights by beach campfires, heartfelt conversations over greasy burgers from the student center food court, and those awkward but exhilarating first Drifts using comparatively primitive tech.

"I wouldn't have traded it for the world," she says finally.

Raleigh grins at his co-pilot. "Me either."

But all of their happiest college memories can't distract them from reality.

"What Sensei said about tying up loose ends," Mako muses, "got me thinking. I'll never work at Shao Industries again."

Raleigh just listens while she talks, following her train of thought.

"I've worked there since I graduated. I helped build a lot of the jaegers, even restored Lady Danger. And now…" Mako glances at the three half-finished jaegers collecting dust at the edges of the Shatterdome. "It doesn't seem real."

Words can't make her feel better, Raleigh knows. Usually, a hug or gentle nudge would've comforted her. But she'd been acting squirrely ever since their stint in the med bay.

He inches his hand toward her, hoping it's a casual enough gesture that it doesn't spook Mako.

To his surprise (and relief), Mako reaches out. Contentment surges through the Ghost Drift for just a moment, disrupting the melancholy tide.

"At least someone I know will see that my hard work doesn't go to waste."

Raleigh somehow manages to pry his eyes away from their clasped hands. "Yeah? Who?"

"Shao sent out an email this morning. Newt has been promoted to Director of Innovation."

"Fancy title," Raleigh muses. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"He'll be overseeing Shao's personal projects." Mako pushes aside her empty tray and leans back against the concrete wall. "I can't tell you why, but…" She pauses deliberately, letting the Ghost Drift do the talking. _Drone jaegers._

Raleigh narrows his eyes. _Drones? Seriously?_

Mako nods. _I've told her that remote systems can be hacked, but it seems that she wants to develop technology that will spare as many lives as possible._

Raleigh considers their situation and chuckles darkly.

"But if you're right," Mako continues aloud, "we should have a few days before that happens."

Raleigh nods. That's plenty of time to spend in each other's company, all things considered. But why waste another minute? He jumps to his feet, still holding onto Mako's hand.

She narrows her eyes as she hears his suggestion in the Ghost Drift. "The Kwoon? Again?"

"What's the matter? Don't think you can beat me in another round?" He can't help himself—he winks down at her. But Mako smirks back.

"Oh, you're on, Raleigh Becket."

* * *

The next morning's sparring session, once again under Ranger Lambert's critical eye, is full of energy. Raleigh credits their big breakfast that morning and deep sleep the night before. Mako, however, figures it's because she's finally comfortable being around her co-pilot.

There's nothing like an inevitable apocalypse to show people who'd they rather die with.

 _Thwack!_ "C'mon, Mako, I know you can do better than that."

Mako shakes her head and resets for the next point. It's two-one. She's not losing to her co-pilot again. She has a reputation to maintain, after all.

 _Swish!_ "Watch it, Raleigh. Maybe next time I won't miss."

Raleigh grins, glad to see his co-pilot acting like her old self.

For the past two days, something felt off every time they'd been around each other, just like it had the month they weren't talking in college. It was almost like Mako hadn't wanted to see him. Hadn't her Drift Hangover been as bad as his? Then why had she been avoiding him?

But that's in the past, Raleigh figures. They have three days left—why waste it dwelling on the what-could-have-beens?

Mako takes full advantage of his momentary distraction.

 _Clack!_ "That's two-two. Head back in the game, Raleigh."

There's fire in his veins now. In Mako's, too, it looks like. It doesn't take long for them to find their rhythm, a jab-dodge-jab-dodge dance that leaves them tied three to three.

They never find out who would've won that sparring match.

At that moment, the kaiju alarm blares around the Shatterdome. All three Rangers in the Kwoon look toward the source of the noise, and all instantly think of the war clock ticking away in the jaeger bays. Raleigh and Mako lock eyes, their faces falling and hearts sinking.

Tendo's somber voice echoes through the base: "All jaeger pilots, report to the Shatterdome."

 _Not LOCCENT?_ Raleigh wonders. Mako simply shrugs as she steps into her boots and returns her hanbō.

They nod to Ranger Lambert as they stride out of the Kwoon for what they fear is the last time. He nods back, and they figure it's as much of a _good luck_  gesture as it is a  _you're welcome_  acknowledgement.

As they step into the hallway, Raleigh holds out his hand. Mako takes it, lacing her fingers in his. They don't speak as they step into the elevator and ascend to Floor A. One the ride down, they trade dog tags and stuff them under their shirt collars.

They separate briefly as they change into their drivesuits, but as soon as they've donned their armor, they reach for each other's hand. The J-Techs in the room don't look the pilots in the eyes.

Following Tendo's orders, they step out of the Drivesuit Room and down to the jaeger bay floor, where strike group personnel are scurrying around prepping the two remaining jaegers for a final assault. Raleigh and Mako stand in the shadow of the mezzanine, watching the flurry of activity around them.

There's no chatter filling the jaeger bay. Tendo isn't joking with the J-Techs to let off steam. A heavy silence settles over the space.

Mako picks up the conversation first, trying to fill the Ghost Drift with anything other than the despair, hurt, and sense of inevitability flooding through their minds.

"I made us a combat soundtrack," she mutters, a sad smile tugging at her lips.

"I know." Raleigh nudges her shoulder. "Sorry, I know you were hoping it would be a surprise."

Mako sighs. "That's the Ghost Drift for you."

Raleigh grips her hand and squeezes it twice. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't know what you were putting on the playlist."

Chuck's irritated voice and Max's cheerful bark interrupt Mako's train of thought. In strides Chuck with Max's leash in hand and an annoyed look on his face. Based on the leather jacket, jeans, and ball cap he's wearing, he hadn't heard Tendo's announcement.

Chuck doesn't head to Striker Eureka's Drivesuit Room. Instead, he stalks toward Tendo, who's gripping a clipboard like a life preserver as the sea of PPDC personnel surges around him.

"You're not suited up," Tendo says, glancing at Chuck's outfit.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that, Elvis. I need to know what's going on."

"Operation Pitfall. So suit up."

Max whimpers from his perch at Chuck's side. Tendo frowns and hastily steps away from the pair, and as he does, he spots Raleigh and Mako across the jaeger bay. Chuck follows on Tendo's heels.

"I can't leave Max here," he calls after Tendo. "Dad's not in his quarters, so where is he?"

At that moment, the Shatterdome doors hiss open. All eyes turn to the doorway. The J-Techs and support personnel freeze. Mako grips Raleigh's hand tighter.

In strides Herc, his arm in a sling and his gaze stony. At his side is Pentecost, dressed in a sleek black drivesuit like the ones Raleigh and Mako are wearing. He marches toward the crowd now gathering in the heart of the Shatterdome. Raleigh and Chuck follow in his wake; Mako jogs to his side.

"Don't remember it being so tight," Sensei mutters.

Tears well up in Mako's eyes. Up until this moment, she'd always felt like Sensei was untouchable, like all fathers should be. Life should only be able to take her father figures by force—cancer, radiation poisoning, an inferno.

And yet here's Sensei about to sacrifice himself. Silently. Willingly.

"Getting into that jaeger," she tells him, "will kill you."

Just a few meters behind her, Raleigh feels her heart break like it's his own. He takes a couple of tentative steps forward, hoping she can sense his presence through the Ghost Drift.  _I'm right here, Mako._

Sensei turns, stopping in front of a vehicle marked PPDC Asset Retrieval. "Not getting into one would kill us all."

"But Sen—"

"Listen." He says this gently, laying a hand on Mako's shoulder. Likely the last time he'll ever do so, as Mako realizes bitterly.

"You're a brave girl," Pentecost continues. "I'm so lucky to have seen you grow."

She tries to speak, but no words come out. _Please, Sensei, don't do this. You've already sacrificed so much—_

"If I'm going to do this, I need you to protect me." Sensei's usually steely gaze wavers for just a moment. Anyone not familiar with the Marshal probably wouldn't see it. But it doesn't escape Mako's notice. "Can you do that?"

Mako grits her teeth and nods, feeling hot tears run down her cheeks. But she doesn't avert her gaze. Pentecost smiles at her one last time, then assumes his Marshal posture once more.

Her time with her adopted father is up. She squares her shoulders. Around her, as Sensei steps onto the PPDC Asset Retrieval vehicle, the crowd trickles forward. Raleigh appears at Mako's side and threads his hand in hers.

It seems like the whole Shatterdome is crowding into the jaeger bays. J-Techs, LOCCENT officers, cadets, and med techs surround the Marshal's makeshift platform as he addresses the grim faces.

"Today..." Pentecost begins by meeting the eyes of everyone around him. "Today, at the edge of our hope, at the end of our time, we have chosen not only to believe in ourselves but in each other."

Raleigh grits his teeth and squeezes Mako's hand twice. To his left, he spies Chuck out of the corner of his eye.  
It's at times like these, when he's staring Death in the face, that he does his best reflecting.

Perfect timing, as usual.

_Should I have told Chuck what happened, about how Yancy was killed? Or would he even have listened to me?_

If he hadn't disappeared after Pentecost had dismissed him, maybe he and Chuck could've been friends. After all, they'd both felt Yancy's loss. Chuck might not be a Becket, but Yancy had considered him a brother.

 _At least you wiped the slate clean,_ Mako chimes in. Herc's comment and Chuck's nod, she knew, were all Raleigh needed to bury their rivalry.  _Sometimes that's the best you can hope for._

Raleigh glances down at Mako and smiles sadly.

"Today, there's not a man nor woman in here that shall stand alone," Pentecost continues. "Not today. Today we face the monsters that are at our door and bring the fight to them. Today we are canceling the apocalypse."

The Shatterdome erupts with determined cheers. And with that, Operation Pitfall begins. Alarms sound as the strike teams prepare to launch the jaegers. Raleigh and Mako figure they have just minutes before they'll be stepping out of the Shatterdome for the last time.

Chuck brushes past Raleigh on his way to the Drivesuit Room, Max trotting along behind. But like Mako, Raleigh finds himself frozen to the concrete floor. After the crowd recedes, only he, Mako, and Pentecost remain.

Out of respect for Mako and Pentecost's privacy, Raleigh breaks away from Mako's side to head to Lady Danger's Conn-Pod. _I'll meet you upstairs_ , he tells Mako, squeezing her hand twice before letting go.

 _Thank you, Raleigh_ , she replies, her attention on her adopted father.

The walk to the Drivesuit Room is the longest of Raleigh's life. Without Mako at his side, he feels like tide of emotions in the Ghost Drift will drown him. There's a lot of pain coming from Mako's end, but she's not the only one heartbroken.

They'd barely made it out alive after that fight with Otachi and Leatherback. With two more Category IVs on their radar, and with a seemingly impossible mission on their shoulders, there's no way they're surviving Operation Pitfall. Knowing they're about to die is one thing. Facing that reality is quite another.

Raleigh steps into Lady Danger but not into his rig. Not yet. Alone in the silent Conn-Pod, Raleigh finds himself talking to his brother's ghost.  _We didn't get lucky, Yance._

_I know, kid._

Raleigh can almost picture Yancy on the right side of the jaeger in his white drivesuit. His brother's smirk is gone, replaced with a solemn gaze that belongs on someone twice his age.

 _Well?_ Yancy asks.  _It's now or never, Rals. Are you going to tell Mako how much she means to you?_

 _Should I even bother?_ Raleigh watches through Lady Danger's viewport as Mako trudges across the jaeger bay floor and ascends the mezzanine stairs.  _We have to stay focused on the mission._

Yancy sighs.  _I can't tell you what to do, kid. But I don't want you to regret everything you never said._

"Two pilots on board," Lady Danger's AI interrupts. Yancy's ghost vanishes, and Raleigh turns around to greet his co-pilot.

Despite her tear-stained eyes, Mako has a stoic look on her face. Just like the one Stacker Pentecost always wears. Like father, like daughter.

Reluctantly, Raleigh and Mako step into their respective rigs. The Ghost Drift is roaring in their ears, making it hard to distinguish one thought from another. Underneath the current, Yancy's words echo in Raleigh's mind. He hates that his brother's ghost is right.

Like a good soldier, Raleigh decides to squash his selfishness and stay focused on Operation Pitfall. But that doesn't mean he won't do whatever it takes to save the one person on Earth he loves most.

He just hopes Mako can forgive him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The Longest Week in Earth's History" is turning into the longest part in this series' history. Whew, these last few chapters have been taxing. Hopefully I'm caught up enough that I shouldn't need to go on hiatus again until after I finish Part Three.
> 
> There are a lot of callbacks here to previous chapters in the "A Rare Thing, Indeed" series, so if you need a refresher, be sure to check out (in order)…
> 
> \- **Part One, Chapter 9** , when Mako and Raleigh make A. Irvine Library's silent reading room their go-to study spot during exams.  
> \- **Part Two, Chapter 2** , when Mako and Raleigh fall asleep at their computers on Christmas morning, 2020.  
> \- **Part One, Chapter 7** , when Mako experiences her first bad Drift.  
> \- **Part One, Chapter 5** , when Raleigh creates a playlist for Mako.  
> \- **Part One, Chapter 10** , when Mako and Raleigh start talking after a month avoiding each other.
> 
> I'd like to give a special shout-out to everyone in the Pacific Rim Discord server for recommending some of these songs. 
> 
> Brace yourself for Operation Pitfall part two, coming next week.


	10. Today We Are Canceling the Apocalypse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "Icarus" by Bastille  
> \- "RPG" by Sekai No Owari  
> \- "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) - Live" by AC/DC  
> \- "Hey Jude" by The Beatles  
> \- "My Machine" by Boris  
> \- "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell  
> \- "Baby Just Time" by Daichi Miura  
> \- "Point of No Return" by Starset  
> \- "Brothers in Arms" by Junkie XL  
> \- "Tokyo" by Smyang Piano  
> \- "Rise - Remix" by The Glitch Mob, The Word Alive, Mako, and Bobby  
> \- "The Sound of Silence" by Pentatonix

**SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2025**  
**THE SHATTERDOME, PACIFIC RIM NATIONAL PARK RESERVE**

 

Time stopped making sense to Raleigh the day his brother died. Months and years had passed him by while he had been bogged down in the moments. Every second, minute, hour, and day spent without Yancy in his head or by his side had been unbearable. But before he knew it, it had been three years and ten months.

Time stopped altogether twice: eleven days ago, when he'd seen Mako gazing up at him from underneath her umbrella, and now, in the last silent moments in Lady Danger's Conn-Pod.

For a few seconds, Raleigh and Mako stare at each other, memorizing the other's forlorn face. Earthy brown eyes meet ocean blue ones, and they muster up weak smiles. That calms the maelstrom in the Ghost Drift, of conflicting emotions and thoughts never voiced, at least for a moment.

But then it's time to save the world. Together, they don their helmets.

Clearly, it's not just the pilots who are feeling crushed by Operation Pitfall. "Initiating Neural Handshake," Tendo says, his voice wavering. He doesn't count them down.

"You know, Mako," Raleigh mutters, focusing on punching in commands to keep his voice from breaking, "all those years I spent living in the past… I never really thought about the future. Until now."

He glances at her and chuckles darkly. "I never did have very good timing."

Mako quirks an eyebrow as she turns to face him. But he can't see her expression through the visor. She doesn't have long to wait to find out what he means. For likely the last time, she and Raleigh sink into each other's memories:

_You're a brave girl I'm so lucky to have seen you grow… we had three days left we should've had more time I'm not letting Mako die in the Upside Down… it took a war to bring us back together but I wouldn't want to die with anyone else… have you made a move yet Rals?… I hear that 'right now' loud and clear c'mon sis you fell asleep talking to him last night… I've lost Yancy I've lost Mako the only people I care about now what do I do?… we keep meeting is it fate or coincidence actually it doesn't matter I'm happiest with Raleigh in my life… where would you rather die here or in a jaeger?_

They break the surface, and Lady Danger stirs.

Mako sticks out her right hand as Raleigh reaches for her, and they hold tight to each other. Through their jaeger's hatch, they watch Lady Danger's and Striker Eureka's strike teams trickle into the sea of J-Techs, cadets, and med techs gathered at the edge of the jaeger bays.

The whole Shatterdome had shown up to send them off.

Mako smiles sadly and queues the combat playlist she'd made, glad that she'd finished it the day before. Judging from Raleigh's reaction, he remembers the first song clearly.

"You got this song stuck in my head after our first Drift."

Mako senses a hint of a smile on his face, and she watches one of his college memories float by.

"Wait," he says, "don't tell me—'RPG' by …?"

"Sekai No Owari," Mako finishes. "Most of their songs were on my studying playlist."

"Not surprised. You always did like upbeat pop."

"Don't worry, there are plenty of Aretha Franklin songs on here."

Raleigh could peek into Mako's memories to see the whole setlist, but he figures being pleasantly surprised would be worth it. "Can't wait to hear them."

Striker Eureka takes its first step with its new pilots, and Raleigh and Mako pull themselves back to the present. The jaeger lumbers out of the Shatterdome under the weight of the payload, strapped strategically along Striker Eureka's frame.

Raleigh and Mako take a step, and Lady Danger follows on Striker Eureka's heels. Out of the Shatterdome. Into the ancient forest. Toward the Breach.

They'd likely run into several issues during Operation Pitfall, Pentecost had told them during numerous strategy meetings. First, with only two jaegers to run the mission, they'd have to somehow lure the kaiju—however many there would be—away from the Breach. Mako had solved that problem by outfitting Lady Danger with a foghorn.

Second, they couldn't go in with guns blazing. If they were to make it past the Perimeter, they'd have to avoid a firefight at all costs. That problem, too, had been taken care of. A LOCCENT officer named Chenglei Quan had mapped out the most direct route to the Precursors' mining colony, so they could avoid those areas frequented by kaiju.

And third, they'd have only a few minutes after detonating the payload before the Breach would start to close. Newt and Dr. Gottlieb both agreed on that intel, so it had to be right. The trick would be ejecting their escape pods in time.

But they could worry about that later.

A screechy guitar riff brings Raleigh out of his thoughts as they step through the Breach. "No way. AC/DC?"

Mako nods. "I kept hearing it in your memories."

"Oh, Chuck would get a kick out of this. That's his favorite band."

"I know." Mako thinks back to the day she'd found Chuck blaring AC/DC from his vintage-looking radio, after her and Raleigh's awful test run. "Apparently this is the one song you tolerate. Is that all he listened to?"

They both notice her use of the past tense.

"Just about," Raleigh replies. "Chuck would play this song every time he and Yance were deployed."

Neither wants to chase that RABIT. They turn instead to their heads-up display, where two kaiju are prowling along the Perimeter. Lady Danger stays close to Striker Eureka as they trudge around the craggy mountains of the Anteverse.

They figure it won't take long for the Precursors to discover their plan. Two hulking machines trampling through their world is bound to draw the kaiju's attention, especially since the pilots are going in blind. At least they have a rough idea of the lay of the land, what with the Anteverse being a mirror image of Earth.

But there are no doubt threats lurking in the Anteverse that they can't see.

The haunting melody of "Hey Jude" filters through the Conn-Pod, and Raleigh smiles sadly. He starts humming along after the third note, and Mako finds herself joining him.

"Okay, Striker and Lady." Tendo's voice snaps them out of the moment. "You're approaching the Perimeter. We'll still have radio contact, but we won't have a visual beyond what your radar can pick up. Be careful."

"Copy that," Raleigh responds.

For the next ten minutes as they jog behind Striker Eureka, they focus on the music floating through their Conn-Pod. The playlist would switch between Raleigh's and Mako's music tastes: after The Beatles comes Boris, then Marvin Gaye, then Daichi Miura.

"Two actives still in circle formation," Herc tells them a few minutes later, if only to follow Pentecost's golden rule of over-communicating. "Codenames Scunner and Raiju, both Category IV."

Mako flicks her eyes to the heads-up display. Like the acting Marshal said, two kaiju are waiting just inside the Perimeter.

 _Here we go,_  she thinks.

Raleigh glances at Mako. "Ready?"

"As we'll ever be."

Raleigh squeezes her hand twice. Mako squeezes back before letting go, hovering her hand over the Crisis Command Matrix.

"Approaching the Perimeter," Raleigh narrates for LOCCENT. "Switching to instruments now. Striker Eureka, we're going to draw the kaiju to us."

"Copy," Pentecost replies.

"Care to do the honors?" Raleigh asks Mako. With a weak smile, she nods and types out a command.

 _BUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRM._ The foghorn rattles their entire Conn-Pod.

For a moment, Raleigh finds himself back on the  _Saltchuck_ , watching an oil tanker glide through choppy seas. He has a feeling that's why Mako chose a tanker ship's horn for Lady Danger—the furious sound could render any beast insignificant.

Raleigh snickers. "You waited until the chorus to do that. Well played."

Mako smirks. As the blips on the screen speed toward them, she readies her plasma cannon.

Tendo cuts in again. "Okay, Striker and Lady, you have two bogies on your tail. A hundred meters until you reach the Perimeter. Watch your six. Good luck, Rangers."

A hundred meters later, their location pins drop off screen. They're on their own.

* * *

They're five miles from the Precursors' mining colony when their radar picks up the kaiju's signatures. Raiju and Scunner are within range—fifty meters and closing fast.

"Kaiju on our flank," Raleigh calls over the comm. "Striker, keep going. We'll fend them off and catch up."

It's not long before the kaiju round a bend in the dried-up creek. A string of curses, half-English and half-Japanese, splashes through the Drift as they see the first one, a monstrosity with the skull of a hammerhead shark and the horns of a bull—Scunner.

As it charges forward on all fours, Scunner fixes its unblinking electric-blue eyes on Lady Danger. Behind it, Raiju takes off for Striker Eureka.

"Striker Eureka, kaiju on your—"

Scunner rams into them before Raleigh can finish. But he and Mako recover quick. They grab the kaiju's massive horns, leaning back just enough to avoid Scunner's snapping jaws. Using the kaiju's weight against it, they pull it forward to head-butt it.

Dazed, Scunner stumbles, giving Mako and Raleigh the opening they need.

Mako swings first, driving a powerful uppercut into the kaiju's armored jaw. But Scunner barely flinches. She hits it again, and then a third time. Now it's just pissed off.

A burst of cannon fire in the distance tells them that Striker Eureka had engaged Raiju.

Mako tenses. _The payload—_

 _I know!_ Raleigh grabs Scunner by the horns again as he waits for Mako's plasma cannon to power up.

Her shot glances off Scunner's armored hide as the kaiju wriggles free. Before she and Raleigh can react, Scunner rears back and rams into their Conn-Pod. Both pilots feel the air leave their lungs.

Raleigh catches his breath first, raising his hand to block a claw swipe from Scunner. Shockwaves ripple through his palm, and he yelps at the sting.

Mako aims her plasma cannon again, this time hitting Scunner in the flank. The kaiju bellows. It ducks its head, attempting to pierce its horns into their Conn-Pod. Lady Danger steps back just in time, but Scunner's horns graze the Conn-Pod with a shriek.

Before Mako can fire off a third round, Scunner smashes its powerful tail into Lady Danger, sending the jaeger crashing into the hillside. The kaiju scuttles a few dozen meters away and turns around, pawing the ground like an enraged bull.

"On my signal," Raleigh mutters, powering up his plasma cannon.

The kaiju roars and charges, barreling forward with two of its clawed hands outstretched.

"Now!"

Raleigh and Mako stick their fists straight out in front of them. Two plasma bursts hit the kaiju straight in the face. Even through their Conn-Pod, they can feel the crackle of discharged plasma in the air. Scunner collapses, clawing at its charred skin and eyes.

 _We should probably save our plasma reserves_ , Mako thinks. _Care to do the honors?_

Raleigh grins. "With pleasure."

They saunter over to the injured Category IV, and Raleigh unleashes Lady Danger's second sword. With a flourish, though admittedly not as graceful as Mako's had been, Raleigh swipes the sword through the kaiju's neck—only for it to get stuck a quarter-way through.

"You've got to be kidding me," Raleigh mutters.

No wonder Scunner had come straight for them. The Precursors must've designed it specifically with Lady Danger's sword in mind. But that's not their only problem. As Scunner bellows, the second blip on their screen turns away from Striker Eureka.

"And now it's calling for backup."

Mako keeps Lady Danger's left foot planted on the kaiju's neck while Raleigh tries to pry the sword free. Finally, after much struggling on both his and Scunner's end, he yanks the sword out like Excalibur from the stone.

"Let's try this again." Aiming for the same spot, he brings the sword down. It slices a few inches further into the kaiju's neck. Scunner twitches and its cry dies in its throat.

"Third time's the charm?" Raleigh suggests.

Mako smirks. _If you say so._

On the final swoop, Raleigh finally beheads the beast. Just in time—over the hilltop comes Raiju. He and Mako plant their feet as Raleigh brandishes the sword, hoping to slice the kaiju in two.

Instead, the kaiju leaps over them with claws outstretched. Raleigh and Mako duck instinctively, and the kaiju's claws miss their jaeger by inches. They whirl around, Raleigh once again brandishing the sword like a knight of Arthurian legend.

Mako jumps in her rig when Raiju snarls. Its armored head had split into three parts like a flower, revealing a fox-like snout, serrated teeth, and beady eyes—just like its namesake, the Japanese thunder beast.

But then its armor retracts, shielding Raiju's face. No way they could pierce through it with the sword.

The comm crackles overhead, and Chuck's voice fills the Conn-Pod. "Lady Danger, we've got a problem."

"We're a little busy here, Chuck!" Raleigh swears under his breath as Raiju charges. Lady Danger steps out of the way, but Raleigh can't swipe at the kaiju in time.

"Lady Danger." That's Pentecost's voice this time. Raleigh feels Mako tense. "We're a mile from the mining colony. There's a Category V standing between it and us."

Raleigh glances at Mako. "Copy that, sir," he says. "We'll subdue Raiju and head your way."

 _A Category V?_ Mako's heart sinks. It's the first any Ranger has ever faced. Two Category IVs had been enough to kill two seasoned pilot teams. Lady Danger and Striker Eureka had barely been a match for Scunner and Raiju. How would they possibly get past a Category V?

"Hey."

Raleigh's voice is enough to pull her out of that train of thought.

"C'mon, let's deal with this Category IV first."

Raiju had disappeared around the corner; based on what their radar says, the kaiju is still nearby. While Mako keeps an eye on the heads-up displays, Raleigh stares out the Conn-Pod, watching for any sign of movement. Both pilots charge up their plasma cannons.

The kaiju rounds the corner a split-second after Mako notices the movement on screen. Together, she and Raleigh raise their fists to fire two more plasma rounds, but Raiju evades the blasts. Their shots aren't wasted, though; they manage to singe the beast's left flank as it ducks away.

The kaiju launches itself off a nearby hill, its armor parting as Raiju shrieks in pain.

"Hang on Mako." Raleigh extends his sword straight in front of him, and Mako plants her knee to keep their jaeger steady. As Raiju sails through the air, Raleigh thrusts the sword down its throat. He winces as his drivesuit responds to serrated teeth scraping along Lady Danger's arm.

After yanking Lady Danger's arm out of Raiju's mouth, Raleigh and Mako race toward Striker Eureka's location. They soon find out what a Category V looks like.

Slattern, as Tendo is calling it, spans the width of a bridge the Precursors had built over a now dried-up bay. Although they can only see the kaiju from a distance, the beast easily towers over the two jaegers. It resembles Scunner with its blocky head and armored body, but its tail makes it distinct.

Like a cat o'nine tails, the whip-like tail flicks back and forth as Slattern stands guard over a cone-shaped structure rising on the alien horizon. The mining colony.

Mako sucks in a breath. The mining colony is like nothing she'd ever seen: a beehive-like tower covered in holes like latticework. Eerie blue and purple light pulses from inside, where dozens of shadows flicker in and out of sight. These aren't kaiju—these beings are small and frail. Precursors.

Raleigh, meanwhile, is watching Slattern, which hasn't taken its beady eyes off the spot in the tree line where the jaegers are standing. _It can see us_ , he thinks. _So why isn't it attacking us?_

They can't stand here forever. "Striker, what are we looking at?" Raleigh calls over the comm.

"Looks like a guard," Pentecost answers. "Probably one of many. It hasn't engaged us yet, so it must be blocking the entrance to the mining colony."

Raleigh glances at Mako and sticks out his hand again. She takes it.

"What's the plan?"

When the comm crackles back on, both Pentecost's and Chuck's voices fills their Conn-Pod. Thankfully, through the Drift, they catch both sides of the conversation. 

Mako focuses on her Sensei: "The delay detonator was damaged when we took a hit from Raiju."

Raleigh, however, pays attention to Chuck's indignant shouting: "—can't detonate the payload on your own, sir! I'm seeing this mission through, same as you."

"Rangers." Pentecost's clipped tone silences the other three pilots. "We must destroy that mining colony if we want to close the Breach. Slattern might not be the only Category V waiting for us. One of us will need to create a diversion to draw the others out."

"Sir," Raleigh says, glancing at Mako, "Lady Danger has a foghorn—"

"—which the Precursors have heard by now. They have a hive mind, remember? They'll only react to a real threat."

 _They're going to detonate the payload_ , Mako realizes.

Raleigh's face falls, and he squeezes Mako's hand twice. What else can he do?

"Lady Danger. You know what you have to do."

Raleigh looks at Mako. _We're a walking nuclear bomb. We can finish this._ "Yes, sir," he croaks.

"My father always said," Chuck shouts over Pentecost, "you have a shot, you take it. But sir, you can't—"

"Raleigh, Mako," Pentecost interrupts. "Chuck will be waiting for you back at the Breach." The comm clicks off, interrupting Chuck's protests.

Raleigh and Mako watch as half of Striker Eureka's Conn-Pod jettisons away, streaking back toward the Breach. The now-idle jaeger hunches slightly.

"Raleigh, listen to me."

Raleigh tenses. "Sir?"

"Finish this. And when you get back… look after them for me."

Raleigh's eyes flick instinctively to Mako.

Mako, meanwhile, calls her little brother to mind. _Did he ever get to say goodbye to Sensei?_ But she can't afford to dwell on that now.

"Yes, sir," Raleigh answers. He waits for Mako to nod before turning Lady Danger around.

While scouting out the mining colony, Mako had noticed the tree line extended all the way around what had once been a bay. If they can sneak through the decaying trees, they have a shot of making it to the mining colony. They tread as lightly as possible over the uneven terrain, hoping they can make it at least halfway around undetected.

By some miracle, they do.

Mako clicks on the comm as they approach a dried channel that once fed water into the bay. She takes a couple of deep breaths to make sure her voice is steady. "Sensei."

"Mako." His tone sounds clipped, stoic, authoritative. But having spent so much time with him when he was Sensei instead of Marshal Pentecost, Mako can tell he's on the verge of tears.

She can't bring herself to speak.

"Listen," he says gently. "You can finish this. I'll always be here for you." There's a _hiss_ in the background—the sound of a Conn-Pod hatch opening. "You can always find me in the Drift."

Tears sting her eyes, but she can't wipe them away through her helmet. Her breath fogs up her visor as she takes shallow, shaky breaths. She grips Raleigh's hand tighter.

As she and Raleigh emerge from the trees onto the sandy shoreline, a flash of light catches their eye. They turn just in time to see a flare arc through the blood-red skies and explode in Slattern's face. The kaiju bellows as it claws at its eyes.

Mako looks to Striker Eureka, a small shadow in the tree line from so far away, as she clicks on the comm one last time. " _I love you, Sensei_ ," she said in Japanese.

" _I love you, too_ ," Pentecost responds.

Reluctantly, Mako turns away from the scene and lets Raleigh lead them toward the mining colony. They're halfway across the channel when a deep _BOOM!_ shakes the alien landscape.

A shockwave almost bowls them over. All around them, trees snap and splinter, and sand swirls up in thick amber clouds around Lady Danger. The blip on their radar has disappeared—Slattern had been decimated in the blast, along with Striker Eureka.

When the dust settles and their ears stop ringing, they hear a chorus of wails echo through the alien landscape. Shadows pour out of openings at the base of the mining colony. More kaiju.

Raleigh hopes they're far enough away that the kaiju won't notice them. Keeping Lady Danger's back to the tree line, he leads Mako across the channel, up the steep bank, and toward the beehive-like fortress rising above them.

Pentecost's gamble had paid off. About a dozen kaiju—Category IVs and Vs judging by their size—are crowding along the crumbling edge of the blown-out bridge. Apparently, none of them had spotted Lady Danger sneaking around their home base.

Mako and Raleigh cautiously approach one of the openings closest to them. The tunnel is dark, but a beam of purplish-red light glows faintly at the end. No shadows catch their eye. It looks all clear of kaiju.

Raleigh squeezes Mako's hand twice as they ease into the tunnel.

Their heads-up displays begin flickering once they're a couple of steps inside. By the time Lady Danger is halfway through the tunnel, the readings are useless. Raleigh shuts the instruments off.

What they find at the end of the tunnel makes them nauseous. A landing in front of them encircles a cavernous room, where a massive beam of white light pierces through the ceiling and floor. Two crescent-shaped rows of what looked like animal enclosures radiate from the center of the room.

It's not the the two Category IV kaiju in these enclosures that spook them most. It's the six-legged beings scuttling around the threshing floor.

In their second's hesitation, they don't see one of the Precursors set a kaiju loose. Mako sees it first. As it lumbers toward them, Mako registers the goblin shark-like snout, and she sucks in a breath.

 _Knifehead_.

White-hot rage surges through the Drift, almost blindsiding her.

"You're not taking another co-pilot from me," Raleigh shouts, unsheathing his sword. Mako follows suit, doing her best to keep memories of Yancy out of their heads.

Knifehead charges forward with its claws outstretched. Although much bulkier than its Category III counterpart, and more than capable of ripping off Lady Danger's arm in a single massive claw swipe, the Category IV moves much slower.

Lady Danger deftly steps aside to avoid the snapping teeth and blade-like snout. As the kaiju surges past them, Mako slices off the tip of Knifehead's snout, which clatters to the floor. Kaiju Blue surges out of the wound, but Mako doesn't feel nauseated this time.

This time, Raleigh makes sure the kaiju is dead. As Knifehead swipes blindly at its wound, Raleigh thrusts his sword into the kaiju's heart. He earns a shock from his drivesuit as sharp claws tear at Lady Danger's arm.

A second later, however, the Category IV slumps against his sword. Raleigh kicks the dead kaiju in the chest, and the blood-covered blade comes free.

But they don't have time to celebrate. Before they can catch their breath, the second kaiju rams into Mako's side of the jaeger and pins them against the wall. Mako's sword is useless against the claws pinching Lady Danger's left arm and jagged teeth tearing into the jaeger's shoulder.

Raleigh's side of the jaeger is pinned to the wall, and he can't do anything but listen to his co-pilot scream.

With an enraged cry, Mako powers up her plasma cannon and raises her arm as far up as she can.

 _Blam!_ The kaiju shrieks as the plasma burst explodes around one of its crab-like legs. But the kaiju keeps tearing into Lady Danger.

 _Blam!_ The kaiju scuttles back, its charred leg dangling uselessly at its side. Raleigh and Mako launch themselves away from the wall before it can attack again.

Except for its beetle-like horned head, the kaiju resembles a crab with six legs, two sets of pincers, and massive mandibles. Raleigh recognizes it from PPDC debriefings; Mako had heard Sensei and Tam speak about it only once. Because it had almost killed them.

Onibaba.

The kaiju roars, its mandibles and pincers opening wide as Onibaba lunges. Raleigh and Mako raise their plasma cannons and each fire off a shot. Raleigh's hits the kaiju in the face, while Mako's severs another one of the legs. The kaiju topples backward, its crab-like legs flailing in the air.

As Onibaba writhes on the ground, Raleigh rams the sword into the kaiju's underside. It pierces through, but it gets stuck. In its haste to scuttle away, Onibaba uses Lady Danger as leverage, yanking off the jaeger's right arm in the process. Raleigh shrieks as his drivesuit delivers crippling electrical shocks up and down his right arm.

Ignoring the pain in her left arm, Mako finishes the beast off with three more plasma bursts.

"Left plasma cannon reserves depleted," Lady Danger's AI warns.

Now both of Lady Danger's arms have gone limp. The crack in their Conn-Pod is leaking air. Mako's end of the Drift is fading—Onibaba had severed her oxygen line.

Raleigh turns to the heads-up display to see Mako's oxygen levels go red: 15%, then 10%, then 5%.

He doesn't hesitate to unhook his oxygen supply and replace it with hers. The haze of oxygen deprivation in Mako's mind clears, but she's just seconds from passing out. It's a silver lining, Raleigh thinks bitterly. If she can't think straight, she can't try to stop him from saving her.

"Hey, Mako," he murmurs, "thank you for everything."

Her hand twitches at her side, and through the Drift Raleigh feels her trying to reach out.

"No, I can finish this alone." Raleigh doesn't meet her eyes as he types a command into the Crisis Command Matrix. "All I have to do is fall. Anyone can fall."

He presses EJECT, and the partition walls lower with a _hiss_ , separating their halves of the Conn-Pod. The Neural Handshake breaks, and he feels her warm presence recede from his mind. Blinding pain replaces it as he shoulders the full neural load.

At least he won't have to deal with it for long.

With another _hiss_ , the left side of the jaeger jettisons away, leaving Raleigh alone in the alien world.

Lady Danger staggers as Raleigh tries stepping toward the energy beam in the heart of the mining colony. The Conn-Pod fills with brilliant white light. Raleigh can't see any Precursors, but he imagines they're racing away to call back the kaiju.

"LOCCENT." He's panting now that his oxygen is at critical levels. "If you can still hear me, I'm initiating reactor override."

He presses the button. But nothing happens.

"Manual override activation required," Lady Danger's AI says unhelpfully.

Raleigh swears under his breath. Taking the last breaths of air from his now-depleted oxygen supply, he releases himself from his rig. Below him, a panel on the floor covers the reactor's manual override switch. As he slumps to all fours, he can barely pry the panel off the floor. His peripheral vision is starting to go black.

_I've got you, kid._

Raleigh figures he's hallucinating. Oxygen deprivation will do that. Plus, Yancy is dead. But there's something oddly tangible about the white-clad jaeger pilot kneeling beside him. Raleigh had forgotten how cool their old drivesuits looked. Or how comforting Yancy's smile had been.

_Let's finish this together, okay?_

_Okay, Yance._ Raleigh can almost feel his brother's warm hands over his as they yank at the manual override lever. It inches forward at first, and a second later it snaps in place.

"Manual override engaged," Lady Danger's AI confirms. "Reactor meltdown initiated. 60, 59, 58..."

Raleigh sighs, closes his eyes, and slumps against the Conn-Pod hatch. It's taking almost too much effort to think. _It's over. We saved the world, Yance._

_Great. Now get up._

Something nudges his shoulder, and Raleigh pries his eyes open.

Yancy is standing up, his hand outstretched. _You've got a pretty girl waiting for you back home. Wouldn't want to let her down, now, would you?_

 _Oh, yeah. Mako._ Her chocolate-brown eyes and infectious smile swim hazily into focus. _I'd like to see her again._

_Then get up. Show her that future you promised her._

Raleigh takes Yancy's hand and struggles to his feet. But he freezes.

Here he is, almost four years later, staring at his brother once again. Yancy has the same clipped blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and cheeky expression Raleigh remembered. It's not fair that Yancy would never see his 23rd birthday. Why had the kaiju taken his brother away from him?

_Twenty seconds, Rals—strap in!_

A roar in the distance snaps Raleigh to his senses. Breathing in the last bit of air left in his drivesuit, he steps into his rig and types in one last command. The metal partition wall descends with a shriek, and he feels his escape pod tip slowly backward before rocketing away from the jaeger's frame. 

A fiery orange light fills the mining colony as Lady Danger's reactor core reaches critical mass. Then the world fades to black. The last thing Raleigh hears is Yancy's voice.

_Raleigh, listen to me: You're going to be okay._

* * *

Mako snaps her eyes open, expecting to find herself blinking back the white light of the mining colony. Instead, soft gray light spills into the Conn-Pod. Flecks of white float toward her and stick to the hatch.

Snow.

For a minute, she's transfixed as the snowflakes float toward her and settle on the Conn-Pod. But then panic rushes in. _Where's Raleigh?_

She glances to her right, but all she sees is the silver partition wall. She can't stop herself from screaming as she fumbles with the harness around her.

Outside, a ginger, olive-clad figure dashes toward the Conn-Pod. With a _hiss_ , the hatch snaps open, and frigid air pours in. The world spins as Mako bolts upright and crawls out of her escape pod.

 _I can't feel Raleigh_. Snow melts into her gloves as she pushes herself upright. _Where's Raleigh?_

Someone is saying something to her, but she ignores him. All that matters is finding her co-pilot. Her left arm dangles uselessly at her side as she stumbles toward the Breach.

"Mori!" Chuck spins Mako around and grips both of her shoulders. "Where's Raleigh?"

She glances around. They're a dozen meters from the Breach, and there are only two escape pods in the clearing. "I don't know."

Surely after disconnecting from the Drift, they'd be Ghosting—right? So why can't she feel Raleigh in her mind?

A squelching sound distracts them. Whirling around, then blinking away her dizziness, Mako watches the massive wound in the cedar tree start to shrink. _The Breach—it's closing._

Mako slumps to the forest floor, pulling her knees up to her chest and failing to breathe evenly. Her own heartbeat thrums inside her head.

"I guess the has-been did it," Chuck mutters. But he's clearly agitated; he stalks toward the Breach, and when he arrives, he starts pacing around the massive trunk.

The Breach had closed up to half its size, about a meter wide, when a battered silver escape pod squeezes out of the opening. Chuck gets to it first, yanking the manual override lever to open the hatch. Mako's heart shatters when she sees Chuck tense.

"No," she murmurs, stumbling toward the escape pod. Chuck is still frozen to the spot. Mako rips off Raleigh's helmet, only to find his eyes closed, face slack, and pulse still. It's only when she starts fumbling with the harness that Chuck gets a hold of himself. Together, they pull Raleigh out of the escape pod.

Raleigh doesn't move.

"The med techs are on their way," Chuck says stiffly, watching Mako cradle her co-pilot in her arms. "He's probably just passed out from the—"

"Raleigh." She buries a sob into his hair.

For the second time in eleven days, the world freezes. The year had started with the two of them reuniting after four years, seven months, and twenty-one days apart. It couldn't end like this.

 _I lost you once_ , Mako calls through the Ghost Drift, hoping Raleigh can hear her. _Don't leave me again_.

The seconds tick by. Chuck shuffles away, muttering something about flagging down PPDC medics. Mako closes her eyes and hugs her co-pilot tightly. And then a grunt shatters her entire world.

"You're squeezing me too tight," Raleigh mutters into her shoulder.

She practically throws him off of her, hoping she hadn't been hallucinating. She hadn't been. Raleigh's ocean-blue eyes are staring back at her. He's smiling.

"I couldn't breathe."

Mako finds herself laughing.

Then exhaustion hits them like a tidal wave. All thoughts about jumping to their feet and scooping each other up in tight embraces leave their minds. Instead, they melt into the escape pod like the snowflakes falling on their drivesuits.

It takes them a full minute before they realize they're holding hands.

A cough from above brings them back to reality, and they open their eyes at the same time. Chuck is standing in front of them with his arms crossed, but there's a small smile on his face.

"I think you might want to see this." He jerks his thumb over his shoulder toward the dying cedar tree.

There's no more oozing wound in the bark, just a black scar in the shape of the Breach. No unearthly crimson light pulsing from inside the trunk. No anxiety in the pilots' minds about whether a monster would charge through at any moment and obliterate everything in its path.

Despite all the odds, Operation Pitfall had been a success.

The Breach is sealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to switch a lot of things up for Operation Pitfall. For one, the jaegers and kaiju are evenly matched in this version, at least until our heroes come face-to-face with Slattern. For another, Chuck survives Operation Pitfall.
> 
> I didn't originally intend to write a Chuck Lives AU, but I figured that since Pentecost knew he'd never reconcile with Jake, he'd probably want to give Chuck a chance to make amends with Herc. 
> 
> I also never planned for…  
> \- Mako to add a foghorn to Lady Danger; I'd forgotten to mention the foghorn in previous chapters, so this is where it comes in. (Shout-out to AO3 author Farisya for inspiring me with this line: "the foghorn resounded with the fury of a hundred tanker ships bearing down on insignificant dinghies.")  
> \- Chenglei Quan (aka Marshal Quan from Pacific Rim Uprising) to make an appearance.  
> \- Lady Danger to find clones of Knifehead and Onibaba in the mining colony.  
> \- Yancy's ghost to give Raleigh a literal helping hand (inspired by Kodaline's "Brother," which is a song I'm including in the next chapter).
> 
> Honestly, this fic has taken on a life of its own. I'm just here for the ride.
> 
> In other news, the trailer for "Stranger Things" season three dropped a few weeks ago, and I'm excited about new lore to include in Part Four. Both will be here before you know it.


	11. It's Time We Talked About the Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "クレーター (Crater)" by Daichi Miura  
> \- "Better - Remix" by Khalid and Rennie!  
> \- "The Answer" by Daichi Miura  
> \- "Ooh Child" by MILCK  
> \- "What a Time" by Julia Michaels and Niall Horan  
> \- "Tranquil" by Handley Page
> 
> Special thanks to greetingsanddefiance for helping me write this chapter.

**MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2025**  
**THE SHATTERDOME MED BAY**

 

Raleigh starts puking first.

Radiation sickness, Mako remembers the med techs saying, along with an alphabet soup of symptoms: leukopenia, purpura, alopecia. The vomiting and headaches hit them both about an hour after the throng of PPDC personnel had paraded them through the Shatterdome on stretchers.

Only they're feeling far from victorious.

The med techs had swarmed around them as soon as they'd touched the all-too-familiar and all-too-thin hospital mattresses. At the end of the scuffle, Mako and Raleigh had IVs sticking into their free hands, buckets at their bedsides, and a slew of medications and blood transfusions waiting for them.

At least they can commiserate in comfort. One of the med techs had been kind enough to push their hospital beds together.

They don't speak. They barely talk through the Ghost Drift. All they do is grasp each other's hands, clinging to each other as they fight against waves of nausea.

Six hours pass. Their throats burn after purging what had felt like all of their internal organs, but they can't decide if the dry heaving is worse. While the rest of the Shatterdome is drinking and feasting, they're curled up in damp sheets, too weak to move.

Whenever he'd find an ounce of strength, Raleigh would squeeze Mako's hand twice. A few minutes later, she would return the gesture.

Twelve hours. The med techs bring in food from the mess hall, but their stomachs recoil as the smell of meat wafts over to them. Light from the hallway fills the room, but it feels like a knife slicing through their eyelids. Raleigh and Mako only relax when the door shuts and they're swallowed up in darkness.

Eighteen hours. They sleep, barely. Mako's nausea has worn off, but Raleigh is still dry heaving. Between the painkillers and blood transfusions, they float in and out of consciousness, not sure where or when they are other than by each other's side in that moment.

Twenty-four hours in, fueled by fluids, antibiotics, and painkillers yet loopy from the sleep deprivation, they start talking about bucket lists.

"When I get outta here," Raleigh croaks, "'m gonna go camping."

Mako huffs, the closest she can get to laughing. "It's January."

"So?"

"You'll freeze."

"I've done it before," he mutters. He shifts on the uncomfortable hospital bed, irritating raw and healing circuitry burns carved into both shoulders. "Went every February after..."

That answers at least one of Mako's questions. Some of Raleigh's Drift memories were hazier than others, and a few unfamiliar coastlines had been in some of them. _Camping is a nice way to honor Yancy's memory._

Raleigh nods. "Hope so."

What feels like only a few minutes passes by them in silence, but when they open their eyes again, a couple of hours have ticked by.

"Skytree."

"Huh?" Raleigh turns his head to face his co-pilot.

"Skytree—I want to see it again." Mako closes her eyes, and a bird's-eye view of Tokyo floats from her mind to Raleigh's. "Up there, I felt so tall. Higher than all my problems."

An unpleasant thought surfaces, but both are too exhausted to chase it. So it settles back to the bottom, along with all of the other memories and emotions they haven't had the time or energy to address yet.

It comes up about twelve hours later, in the wee hours of the morning when the darkest thoughts thrive.

* * *

Electric-blue eyes peer out of the darkness. Crimson skies loom overhead. The world smells like sulfur—it's so strong that it seeps into Mako's drivesuit. She doesn't realize she's moving until she emerges into a clearing ringed by charred saplings.

 _I've seen this before_. Her feet carry her forward. _It's a nightmare—I need to wake up._

The monsters are still lurking in the shadows, but Mako is more afraid of the glass sarcophagus in the center of the clearing. No matter how hard she fights her unconscious mind, however, she can't escape the inevitable dream sequence.

It's 04:27 when she bolts upright in her hospital bed, a scream halfway up her throat and Raleigh's stony face etched into her eyelids. She almost passes out as the blood rushes out of her head, but she holds onto consciousness as she searches for her co-pilot in the darkness.

Raleigh's face is slack and eyes closed. But then he twitches in his sleep.

 _He's alive_. Mako draws her knees up to her chest and rests her chin on her forearms. _We survived_.

A silver lining, considering Sensei hadn't.

 _Sensei_. In all the chaos since stumbling out of her escape pod two days ago, she hadn't had a chance to reflect. Sensei had sacrificed himself to save the world. To save her. And now he's gone.

There's a dull ache in her chest now, but in a few days, when she knows the hole Sensei left behind will grow, the pain will get worse. Just like after Tam had passed away. Only Mako doesn't have Jaeger Academy training to distract her this time.

Mako frowns and focuses back on her co-pilot. _I can't believe we made it out. And closed the Breach. We have time. And maybe a future_.

A to-do list starts creating itself before she can stop it: _We have to start planning our next assault. We'll need a fleet of jaegers. Drift Compatible pilots. More funding. And we need to convince the world that the kaiju are still out there_.

Raleigh stirs, and he wakes up to find Mako's eyes burning a hole straight through him. "Hey," he mutters. "What's wrong?"

She blinks. Scowls. Where should she even start? With the fact that they'll have to destroy the Anteverse to stop the kaiju once and for all? That Sensei is gone and her only other family member is still missing? That she hadn't planned for a future where she and Raleigh would survive Operation Pitfall?

"We saved the world," is all she can manage.

"We did." Raleigh grimaces as he sits up. New wounds had retraced his half-healed circuitry burns, and he figures it'll be a miracle if he walks away with any undamaged skin. If he and Mako leave the med bay at all. "And…?"

The Ghost Drift answers for her. A maelstrom of dejection and fear whip up the thoughts that had settled to the bottom of their collective consciousness. Part of her wants them to stay there, out of sight, but she just doesn't have the energy to drown those thoughts out.

Raleigh does his best to hang on. Who knew one person could have so much on her mind? Of the coherent thoughts that Raleigh does catch— _Sensei is gone and I still don't know if Jake is alive and what happens when we get out of here and now that we've found each other again what's going to happen to us_ —he addresses the one he's been dying to ask her.

"What do you mean, 'what's going to happen to us'?"

Mako doesn't answer. With machines, there's no need for communication. Every problem can be solved with a little time and tinkering. Not like with people, when it's too easy to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

"There are no secrets in the Drift, Raleigh," she finally says.

A few memories rush through their minds—Raleigh's exhilarating first kiss at age 12, Mako's disaster third date at age 16. Mako fixates on the one of 20-year-old Raleigh and 21-year-old Yancy shouting at each other in the simulator:

_You and Naomi what the hell Yance you knew I had a thing for her—whatever it's not like you were going to do anything about it—you don't know that—yeah I do Rals—_

Raleigh stiffens. "I'm not proud of that fight. Yancy and I almost got kicked out of the Academy because of it."

"It's not about that."

 _Oh._ "Is… is it about Naomi? Because that was back in high school, and—"

"No." Mako stares down at her feet, tucked up under the thin sheets and wrapped in hospital socks two sizes too big. "I… I don't know how to explain it."

Raleigh knows what's coming. This is the part where Mako's going to tell him that the two of them would never work out. That she doesn't want to be held down. Just hours ago, when they thought Operation Pitfall was the last time they'd ever see each other, it had been easier to pretend that things were okay.

Running from the truth won't make it hurt any less. Still, he deserves to hear Mako say it. "I'm listening," he says.

Mako hasn't lifted her gaze from the hospital bed. "We've Drifted nine times now. We know everything about each other: what bands we listened to as kids, where we first saw fireworks, how we felt about our first dates."

Raleigh nods slowly, his stomach churning.

"Back in college, you said we were best friends. But most best friends haven't Drifted together. I think we both know that we were closer than ordinary best friends could ever be." She sighs. "Then you graduated…"

Now it's Raleigh's turn to peer into Mako's memories: _Three years six months four days Raleigh and you step onto this tarmac thinking we can be friends again after I thought you were dead—_

Raleigh gingerly leans back on his hands. Winces as he puts pressure on his singed palm. "We never got closure, did we? I was a wreck after Yancy died. As much as I wanted to talk to you back then… I wasn't ready."

"I know that now," she mutters. "And I don't blame you for disappearing. But I can't go through anything like that again. The radio silence—it just got worse with time."

Raleigh doesn't say anything. The guilt returns with a vengeance. _I let you down, Mako. I never meant to—_

"Raleigh."

He finds Mako watching him, concern filling her dark eyes.

"You lost Yancy—not just your brother, but your Drift partner, too. We've both lost the family members we're closest to. And I… I don't want to lose you. Not again."

So Mako doesn't want to part ways just yet. Hope ripples through the Ghost Drift. "I feel the same way," Raleigh says. But he stops there. This time, he hopes Mako can pick up what he's thinking.

Hazy thoughts and lucid memories swirl through their minds. Fighting back exhaustion from her sleep deprivation and radiation sickness, Mako does her best to follow Raleigh's train of thought:

_Two steaming mugs on a table in a sun-soaked corner of a Nanaimo coffee shop… an ocean breeze running through their hair while they keep warm under Raleigh's coat… the Becket's old couch cushions curling around them while they watch a black-and-white Christmas movie… Mako's distracted smile frozen in a Polaroid…_

Mako looks away again and settles further into her fetal position. "I don't know if we want the same thing," she mutters into her folded arms.

Raleigh's heart sinks. "What do you mean?"

"I want you in my life, too. But I don't think you'd be content with just me."

 _That's what's been on your mind?_ He breathes a sigh of relief. "You forget I've been in your head, too, Mako. Don't think I haven't noticed you prefer machines to people and don't like a lot of physical affection."

They both settle into memories of driving back from Port Angeles, and then of sitting in Tam's car outside of Raleigh's empty apartment. They had listened to music from each other's playlists for hours, long after the sun had set. Mako had only left after Jake called, asking where she was.

The whole time, they'd held each other's hands tightly, as if that were the solution to their uncertain futures.

Now, maybe it could be.

It's true, Mako muses, that she usually prefers the bare minimum of human contact. Especially considering her awful dating experience in high school. But sitting there holding hands with Raleigh, she hadn't felt uncomfortable. He'd been her best friend, after all.

Now, their friendship is stronger than ever. Then how much worse would the radio silence be if they go their separate ways? "So," she urges, "what's going to happen to us?"

Raleigh reaches out for Mako's hand. She uncurls so she can take it—he's shaking. Whether it's from exhaustion or nervousness, Mako can't tell.

"I thought we wouldn't speak again after my Drift in college went so badly. But we did. And then when Yancy... " He sighs. "Twice, I thought I'd blown my chance to ever see you again. Then you were standing there on the tarmac. And I knew I couldn't lose you a third time. I'm not going anywhere."

Mako glances up and finds Raleigh staring at her. She glances away. "Even if our ideas of a relationship are so different?"

"They don't have to be. We'll find common ground, like we always do. Besides…" He squeezes her hand twice. "I'm happiest when I'm with you."

This time, Mako meets Raleigh's eyes. Blush creeps into her cheeks, and she can't help smiling. But her grin fades as she recalls a conversation they had a lifetime ago. "Is our connection fate, or just a coincidence?"

Raleigh shrugs. "I think we would've been friends, anyway. Drifting just… sped things up."

It's been almost fifty hours since Raleigh and Mako had been left in the med bay. Sleep is finally catching up with them. Mako slumps onto her side and wraps the hospital sheets tighter around her. Raleigh settles back on his pillow, and almost instantly his eyes flutter shut.

But there's one more question on Mako's mind. "What are we now?"

"Hmm?" Raleigh pries an eye open.

_Lovers datefriends soulmates partners—_

"Co-pilots," Raleigh says without hesitation. With a grunt, he props himself up on his elbow to keep from falling asleep. "I think that's the best way to describe us. No one outside the PPDC will understand, but that's okay." He smiles down at her.

A lazy smile warms Mako's face, and relief floods through her.

Raleigh glances at the clock and falls back onto the mattress. "We should probably get some sleep."

"Probably." She hasn't stopped grinning. "Goodnight, Raleigh."

"'Night, Mako."

This time, the nightmares leave Mako alone. And for the first time in what feels like years, she gets twelve hours of deep, uninterrupted sleep.

* * *

An uneasy feeling wakes Raleigh up. He blinks back sleep, and when his eyes adjust to the dimly lit hospital room, he finds Mako sitting ramrod-straight and still in bed. She's just staring at something draped over her palm.

A streak of blue.

"Mako?" Panic rushes through him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

The look she gives him shocks him just like his drivesuit. It's the same look she had on her face after coming out of her RABIT chase during Lady Danger's trial run. Like a terrified little kid.

Raleigh sits up as quickly as his body will let him, but he still has to blink back dizziness. "Mako?"

All she does is drag her fingers through her hair. Sure enough, black and blue strands come away in her hand.

Raleigh swears under his breath. He turns around to find blonde hair all over his pillow. He runs a hand through his own hair and does a double-take when chunks stick between his fingers.

"Okay," he breathes. "Hair loss. The med techs warned us about this… right?"

After a minute, Mako breaks out of her stupor. "Yes. But I didn't think…"

Raleigh just nods as she trails off. No words needed. "You're right. This sucks."

Mako sighs, and her lip twitches like she's trying to find a reason to smile. "I suppose I did need a haircut…"

"And I always wanted to see what I'd look bald. What do you think?" He pulls out another chunk of hair and drops it onto the mattress. "Should I just shave my head now?"

That makes Mako's smile stick. "I can't imagine you being bald."

"That settles it." Raleigh reaches for the pager next to his hospital bed, trying not to get tangled in the IV still attached to his right hand.

A minute later, a med tech rushes in. She tilts her head at their half-amused expressions, then at the strands of hair in Mako's hand and on Raleigh's sheets. "Ah, we're at the alopecia stage now, aren't we?"

"Not if I shave my head first," Raleigh replies. "Do you have any clippers?"

Twenty minutes later, Mako and Raleigh are sitting at the edge of their conjoined hospital beds, their feet dangling over the edge. With shaky hands, Mako runs the clippers from the nape of Raleigh's neck to his forehead, watching as clumps of blonde hair fall into the empty bucket at his feet.

"How do I look?" Raleigh asks when she finishes. Faint peach fuzz catches the light, but it's hard to see against his pale skin.

"You're lucky you have a smooth skull," she says, smirking. "Congratulations, Raleigh, you've checked one more thing off your bucket list."

Raleigh runs his free hand over his head. "This'll take some getting used to—Mako, what are you doing?"

She holds out the clippers in shaky hands. Finally, Raleigh reaches for them. "My turn," she says quietly.

"Are you sure?"

A pause. Her eyes slide out of focus as she plays with the hair brushing her shoulders. But when another few strands of hair pull away, she grits her teeth. "I'm sure."

She's silent as Raleigh runs the clippers through her hair, as blue streaks fall through the air into the bucket at her bedside. There's black hair all over the sheets and floor when Raleigh finishes.

Mako waits until she lays back down to start crying.

After brushing as much hair as he can off the sheets into the pails on the floor, Raleigh shuffles back on the mattress until he's facing his co-pilot. She sniffles and sticks out her hand; he takes it and squeezes twice. _It's okay. I'm here_.

Raleigh waits until she's fast asleep before paging the med tech again. "Thanks," he whispers as he hands back the clippers. "And can I ask for one more favor?"

* * *

The next twenty-four hours come and go. Raleigh and Mako drift in and out of sleep, their strength steadily improving thanks to all the blood transfusions and medication. But they're still too weak to take more than a few steps around the room. And with the vomiting stage so fresh in their minds, they still don't feel like eating more than a few bites of mess hall food.

When they find themselves awake at the same time, they pass the time talking about their college memories. When they don't feel like speaking, they memorize each other's faces, especially now that they're sporting new hairstyles. Kind of.

Seventy-six hours after the first radiation sickness symptoms hit, Mako starts feeling better. Still weak, but better. And so she makes herself Raleigh's anchor while he rides out his symptoms. He'd stayed in the Anteverse for only a few heartbeats longer than she had, but somehow he'd been suffering for hours longer.

While she keeps watch over him, an unwelcome thought worms its way into her mind: _What if he doesn't get better?_

Would they save the world together only to be ripped apart? Mako had avenged her parents—and her Shatterdome family—after slaying Otachi. She'd avenged Sensei after helping Raleigh take down clones of Knifehead and Onibaba. If Raleigh died, she'd have no way to avenge him.

Fortunately, that thought never becomes reality. It takes him a few hours longer than Mako, but Raleigh gets better.

They would get that future, after all.

* * *

It's Friday morning, just after 09:00. Raleigh and Mako are stretching out their sore limbs when Dr. Knight walks into their hospital room. From his impassive gaze, he doesn't have all good news to share.

"Let's start with the bad news," he says, striding to the foot of their hospital beds. He turns to Raleigh. "You probably know this already. Just based on your injures from your last fight—circuitry burns on your right hand and arm, severe bruising on your right shoulder, and radiation sickness on top of all of that—stepping back into a jaeger is out of the question."

Raleigh's heart sinks, and he can't help glancing at Mako. _Yeah, I figured this was coming. Still doesn't make hearing it any easier._

"And then there's the possible brain damage of taking on the full neural load," Dr. Knight continues.

 _Knew that was coming, too_.

"You probably shouldn't Drift again, either—at least for the time being," Dr. Knight clarifies when Raleigh gapes at him. "You need to rest. Both of you. But the good news is that you'll make a full recovery. Just to be safe, though, we'll be upping your Metharocin doses."

He glances from Raleigh to Mako and back again. A small smile breaks through the practitioner's mask. "You two are extremely lucky."

Raleigh and Mako trade sad smiles.

"If you're feeling up for it, you can go in twenty-four hours. The Marshal wants you feeling next to normal before the press conference."

Raleigh frowns. _Of course there's a press conference. After closing the Breach, I'd imagine the whole world wants to know what happened in there._

Mako is frowning for another reason. She'd gotten so used to the idea of Sensei being Marshal that, for a moment, she forgot Herc had stepped up when Sensei stepped into Striker Eureka. But then reality hits. The hole in her soul expands.

Raleigh reaches for her hand and squeezes it twice. _I know. Give yourself time to grieve_.

Dr. Knight clears his throat, and they glance up simultaneously. "We'll bring food in for you in an hour," he says. "Page us if you need anything."

Silence settles inside their hospital room after the door clicks shut.

"Looks like our future won't be in a jaeger," Raleigh mutters, frowning.

Mako says nothing for a minute, her gaze fixed on the hospital room door. When she turns back, there's a hint of a smile on her face. "As much as I would love piloting again…" Mako takes his hand and squeezes it twice. "It'll be nice staying on the ground."

Raleigh returns her smile.

Any future together is one to look forward to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You made it!
> 
> After more than 30 chapters of Mako and Raleigh forging a friendship and dancing around their feelings, they finally talk it out. And after several chapters of sheer the-world-is-ending angst, things are starting to look up for our heroes.
> 
> A few things here: 
> 
> \- **Like the previous chapter, this one has a fix-it.** Anyone who's read "Pacific Rim Uprising: Ascension" (the Uprising prequel novel by Greg Keyes) knows what happens in chapter three—and, like me, will be mad about it forever. This chapter ignores that bit of canon, instead just focusing on the radiation sickness Mako and Raleigh got after Operation Pitfall.  
> \- **Speaking of radiation poisoning…** I'm glad "Pacific Rim Uprising: Ascension" mentioned it. Too often, movies tend to gloss over the not-so-glamorous bits about saving the world.  
> \- **Mako is asexual in this fic (and in all of my headcanons).** When I first saw "Pacific Rim" in 2013, I was pleasantly surprised that the movie didn't try to force a romance for romance's sake. A lot of that has to do with Mako as a character. (Side note: Canonically, Chuck is just as wholly dedicated to being a top pilot as Mako is to building jaegers. I'd consider him ace, too.)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


	12. Honoring Those We Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "Thanks" by Seventeen  
> \- "Cruel World" by Active Child  
> \- "Ghost" by Wildes  
> \- "All We Do" by Oh Wonder  
> \- "Brother" by Kodaline  
> \- "Nightingale" by Demi Lovato

**SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2025**  
**THE SHATTERDOME MED BAY**

 

It had been a lazy twenty-four hours. But by Saturday evening, Mako is eager to get back to some semblance of a schedule. She wakes up from her third nap that day at 17:56, remembering that Herc— _Marshal Hansen now_ , she reminds herself sadly—had scheduled a press conference for sometime in the near future.

Her stomach twists itself in knots at the through of telling scores of reporters what happened in the Anteverse. Remembering the detonation blast swirling around Lady Danger, kaiju shrieking as they charged out of the mining colony, and Raleigh lying limp in her arms is bad enough. Voicing all those memories?

She shudders. There's no way she can make it through the press conference without crying. Especially when the reporters inevitably ask about Sensei.

The cotton pillowcase irritating her scalp reminds her of another thing Operation Pitfall took from her.

Tears well up in her eyes as she runs her hands over the stubble. Yes, her hair will grow back. Yes, she can always dye it blue again. But no matter how much she tries to rationalize losing her hair, she can't shake the sense that she's lost a piece of herself.

In the bed next to hers, Raleigh grunts and sits up. It's been a week since Operation Pitfall, but today's the first day he hasn't felt like he's dying. Tender circuitry burns running down his right arm and palm pale in comparison to the radiation sickness symptoms.

He yawns and wipes sleep from his face, which is covered in seven days' worth of stubble. He freezes when his fingertips brush his scalp. He lets out a low whistle as he runs both hands over his shaved head.

"I forgot, too," Mako mutters. "I don't think I'll get used to being bald."

"Well," Raleigh muses, dropping his hands to massage his stiff neck, "at least now we won't have to worry about our hair falling out." He smiles down at her. "And it'll grow back soon."

 _Not soon enough_ , she thinks. The last time she'd had short hair had been in high school. By the time she'd started college, it had finally grown out to her shoulders. The blue streaks had come the following summer, when she'd decided she was happy with that hairstyle.

It would take years for her hair to grow back the way she'd liked it.

There's a quiet knock at the door, and the two turn in sync as Dr. Knight strides in. He's flanked by two med techs carrying in trays of food from the mess hall.

"Evening, Rangers," he says. "How are we feeling?"

Raleigh shrugs; Mako sits up, leaning back on her hands to keep them away from her scalp. When the med techs set dinner in front of them, they dig in greedily.

"Glad to see you've got your appetites back," Dr. Knight says. "You'll be free to go after we do some blood work, but you should still take it easy."

Raleigh glances at Mako. _So no sparring, then?_  It had already been a week since they'd stepped onto the mat.

 _At least for a few days, it sounds like_ , she replies. _Why do you ask?_ _Are you that eager to lose?_

Raleigh snickers and almost chokes on his toast. Dr. Knight steps forward, his face blanching with concern, but Raleigh holds up a hand to say he's okay. The doctor nods knowingly when he catches Mako smirking.

"The press conference debriefing starts at 20:00," he says as he backs out of the room. "Stay out of trouble, you two."

Mako's face falls as she watches the door close. _Do we really have to do the press conference?_ The last thing she wants is dozens of microphones shoved in her face and camera flashes blinding her. Or reporters grilling her in general.

"Yeah," Raleigh replies. "We saved the world, after all." He reaches for her hand. "But for what it's worth—"

_Knock-knock-knock._

Raleigh glances at her before shouting, "it's open."

Mako isn't at all surprised to see Tendo saunter in, wearing a cheeky smile and holding something conspicuously behind his back.

"They're alive!" Tendo says, plopping two packages on their mattresses before wrapping Raleigh and Mako in a bear hug. "I'm so glad to see you're doing better. And I brought you both what you asked for."

"Wait, 'both'?" Mako looks over at Raleigh, who has an equally confused look on his face.

Tendo laughs. "And I thought you two shared everything in the Ghost Drift."

"Apparently not while we're passed out from radiation sickness." Raleigh takes one of the paper-wrapped packages Tendo hands him, and Mako accepts the other.

"Merry Christmas, a month late. But just so you know," Tendo says, glancing between them, "you look just as good without hair. The rest of us don't stand a chance." He winks. "See you two in a couple of hours."

They both wave as he closes the door behind them, then turn to the packages in their laps.

"I got you something," Raleigh mutters, rubbing his neck. "I know you were devastated about losing your hair, so…"

"That's why I got you something, too," Mako says as they trade gifts. "Like Tendo said, I'm surprised we both didn't see this coming."

For a minute, the only sound in the hospital room is tearing paper. When all's said and done, brown scraps litter their mattresses and spill onto the floor.

"Raleigh, this is… this is so sweet." She holds up the black wig to get a better look.

"I know it's not exactly like your old hairstyle, but—"

"It's perfect." She grins at him and tries it on. After a trim around the edges and a couple of colorful hair extensions on the sides, no one would be able to tell the difference. "Thank you."

Raleigh turns back to his gift to hide the blush creeping into his cheeks. "Is this a Lady Danger cap?" He holds it up to the light, admiring the red and white jaeger logo stitched onto the navy band. "I didn't know they made these."

"Limited edition—Tendo's idea, actually. I just told him to get you a knit cap like the one I saw in your memories."

"I did like that old cap," Raleigh muses. "Hate that I left it on the _Saltchuck_." He puts the new one on, wrinkling his nose as the wool tickles his stubbly scalp. "I love it. But when did you have time to ask Tendo without me noticing?"

"While you were asleep all day Thursday. When did you ask Tendo about the wig?"

"Right after we did the big shave. Obviously, I had to wait until you were asleep to keep it a surprise."

She grins, but her face falls slightly as she chases an unwelcome thought. "I wonder if the reporters will ask why we suddenly changed hairstyles."

"Then we tell them we almost died after saving the world. But I have a feeling the PR team will swoop in if things get too personal," Raleigh assures her.

"At least Herc—er, Marshal Hansen…" Mako takes a deep breath. It's going to take time for her to separate that title from Sensei.

Raleigh takes her hand and squeezes twice. "It's okay. We're all going to be grieving for a while."

But judging from the chaos that sweeps through their room in the form of med techs with syringes, it's going to be some time before they have a quiet moment to mourn.

* * *

As soon as Mako and Raleigh slink into the conference room, they're handed sheets of paper covered front to back with questions. Some seem so insensitive they have to reread them several times before looking at each other in shock.

Clearly, they're not the only ones.

"'Was it Ranger Pentecost's decision to eject your escape pod?' What kind of sick question is that?"

Mako hadn't seen much of Chuck since Operation Pitfall, despite being in the next room in the med bay. She had, however, heard him.

Most nights he'd been in the med bay had been be punctuated by shouts, directed mostly at the med techs—and occasionally Herc. But when the commotion would die down, Mako would swear she could hear Chuck sobbing.

Herc sighs. "Like I said, these questions are just precautions. Reporters might not ask—"

Chuck crosses his arms. "You want to know if I abandoned my co-pilot."

Raleigh glances at Mako. It had been drilled into his head at the Jaeger Academy that co-pilots never abandon each other. Even he and Pentecost, the only two to pilot solo, hadn't done it on purpose. Until Operation Pitfall.

A muscle in Herc's jaw twitches, and Raleigh can tell he's trying to bite back an angry response. The Hansens stare at each other in furious silence, and Raleigh figures they're having it out in the Ghost Drift.

A second later, Chuck knocks over his chair as he storms out of the conference room.

Mako watches him go, her eyes narrowing. Chuck had been conscious when his escape pod launched—and if his protesting was to be believed, he wasn't happy with Sensei's decision.

In Mako's mind, that's a big _if_.

She's irritated to find Chuck still sulking at dinner. Save for him and Max, the mess hall is empty when she, Raleigh, and the rest of the press conference attendees trickle in. And just her luck—Tendo slides in next to Chuck and Raleigh takes the opposite seat. By the time Mako gets to the Striker Eureka table, only Herc's usual spot is open.

 _Great_.

 _What's up?_ Raleigh asks when she sits down. A few heads turn when her tray smacks the table. He narrows his eyes when Mako shakes her head, but he doesn't press her. She'll tell him later why she's irritated.

He hopes.

At the other end of the table, Newt and Dr. Gottlieb are arguing in what sounds like German, the entire conversation lost on and virtually ignored by everyone else at the table. Beside the K-Scientists, the senior J-Techs are muttering among themselves, and every now and then a few of the of the LOCCENT officers join in.

Tendo switches in between conversations with the other two LOCCENT officers and Chuck, who for the most part stays silent. Raleigh listens politely the conversations around him, but his mind is on his co-pilot.

"You've been awfully quiet," Tendo tells Chuck halfway through dinner. "What's on your mind, brother?"

"I should've finished the mission with him," Chuck answers, picking around his potatoes. At his feet, Max whimpers.

Tendo clamps his mouth shut, and Raleigh feels Mako tense. It's lucky that Herc hadn't been there to hear him say that.

"Do you wish you'd died in the Anteverse?" Mako murmurs, staring down at her half-eaten dinner. Her tone sounds innocuous, but Raleigh can feel rage surging through the Ghost Drift.

Chuck doesn't get the hint. "Pentecost ejected me before we could do any damage." He abandons his potatoes, setting the plate on the floor for Max. "I brought nothing to that fight, and—"

 _Thunk!_ Raleigh blinks to find Mako's fist wrapped up in Chuck's shirt collar and her elbow throbbing from hitting the table—he can feel the painful numbness on his end. The mess hall falls silent.

"Sensei died because of you, Chuck," she hisses. "When are you going to learn being a Ranger isn't always about you?" And with that, she storms out of the mess hall.

Raleigh shoots up from the table to chase after her. "I'll go talk to her," he mutters to Chuck, who's massaging his neck where Mako's nails scraped his skin. Raleigh feels every eye on his back when he stalks out of the mess hall.

 _You know it's not Chuck's fault_ , Raleigh calls through the Ghost Drift.

There's only furious silence on Mako's end.

Raleigh sighs. During the debriefing, he'd read over the transcript between Striker Eureka's pilots and LOCCENT during Operation Pitfall:

 

> _**Rng. PENTECOST:** Marshal Hansen, this is Ranger Pentecost. I'm finishing this fight solo._
> 
> _**Rng. HANSEN:** Marshal, what're you doing? You can't just—_
> 
> _**Rng. PENTECOST:** Ranger, you've done your duty. The world will hail you as a hero. I'm giving you a second chance—don't make the same mistake I did._
> 
> _**Rng. HANSEN:** Marshal—_
> 
> **_COMMAND EXECUTED: LEFT HEMISPHERE ESCAPE POD ACTIVATED_ **

Chuck might be stubborn and arrogant, but the guy had lost two co-pilots. And now he's facing scrutiny for breaking the Ranger code. More than that, Mako's reaction feels all too familiar to Raleigh.

It's the same way he felt after losing Yancy to Knifehead.

He finds Mako's door shut tight, and judging by the Japanese metal thrumming through the Ghost Drift, she wouldn't be able to hear him banging on the door. Raleigh sighs and plops down on the stairs, uncurling the debriefing papers he'd stuffed into his back pocket.

He might as well study up. It's going to be a long night.

* * *

After a restless night, Mako opens her door the next morning to find Raleigh slumped against the wall. He grunts and blinks back sleep, rolling out his right shoulder from where he'd been leaning against the railing.

"What time's it?" He yawns.

"Just after 04:00," she answers, shutting the door and sitting down next to him. "Did you spend the night out here?"

"Guess so."

Mako brings her legs up and rests her chin on her knees. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you should apologize to," he says gently.

She can feel Raleigh staring at her, and she drops her gaze to the floor. They sit like that for what feels like forever until the silence finally gets to Mako. "A good Ranger never abandons their co-pilot," she says finally.

"You're right. And Chuck's a good Ranger, even if he is full of himself." Raleigh hands over a battered copy of the transcript; Mako doesn't unfold it. "Pentecost's death wasn't Chuck's fault. It's not fair to pin the blame on him."

Raleigh scoots closer until he's shoulder-to-shoulder with Mako. "You've got a right to be angry. When Yancy died, I was furious. But I was angry at the wrong things. For a while, I blamed the Gages—I thought that if they'd been able to kill that kaiju on their own, they would've helped us kill Knifehead. And maybe Yancy would still be alive."

Mako glances at him out of the corner of her eye. That's a start, Raleigh figures.

"The Precursors took your Sensei from you," he continues. "And I'm sure he wouldn't want you walking around with a chip on your shoulder for the wrong reasons."

Mako lets out a shaky breath, and Raleigh pulls her close. Now it's his turn to keep watch while she grieves.

Her sobs, although muffled in Raleigh's sweater, still echo through the empty hallway. But if anyone in the rooms nearby hears her this early in the morning, they have the good sense not to investigate. After a while, Mako pulls herself away from Raleigh's shoulder and wipes her eyes.

The gaping hole in her heart is no less filled, but it helps to have someone to commiserate with. She smiles at him, sniffles, and picks up the crumpled piece of paper lying on the concrete steps.

"Want to go over some of these?" She asks.

Raleigh nods, grasping one side of the page to get a closer look at the questions. The list is overwhelming to look at: nearly fifty questions covering just about anything that nosy reporters could possibly ask.

Raleigh starts with the first one. "'What was going through your mind during Operation Pitfall?'"

Those thoughts are still fresh in Mako's mind. "Should I answer honestly, or…?"

"I wouldn't. Reporters tend to blow things out of proportion."

"Okay. I'll just say that I was prepared from a combative standpoint. Up until Pitfall, we had daily strategy meetings and sparring sessions. But is anyone truly prepared to face a mission like that?"

Raleigh nods. "Good answer. Your turn."

Mako frowns at the next question. "'How has former Marshal Stacker Pentecost's death affected you?'"

"If they ask you this, I'll take it." Raleigh squeezes her shoulder gently. "I'll say something generic like, 'losing a commanding officer in battle is never easy. Marshal Pentecost not only saved the lives of three Rangers, but also the entire world. Without his sacrifice, we wouldn't be having this conversation today.'"

Mako feels hot tears run down her cheeks again. "Thank you," she mutters, rubbing her eyes.

Raleigh gives her a small smile. "Alright, next one." He glances down at the paper, and his grin turns sheepish. "'What's the nature of your relationship?'"

"Co-pilots," she says, thinking back to Raleigh's words from just a few nights before. "And I'll just leave it at that. We don't have time to catch the reporters up on the last six years of our lives."

They trade questions and answers back and forth until breakfast, two hours before the press conference. Mako's stomach sinks when she sees Chuck sitting at the Striker Eureka table, which had since morphed into the Operation Pitfall survivors' table. But before she can bolt out of the mess hall, Raleigh takes her tray and nudges her in Chuck's direction.

Reluctantly, Mako trudges over to him. "Sorry about last night," she mutters, dropping her gaze to Max. The bulldog flicks his big brown eyes between her and Chuck, almost like he's encouraging them to make amends. "I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you."

"I'm sorry, too."

Mako jerks her head up. An apology from the world's cockiest jaeger pilot is the last thing she had expected.

"You were right, sort of." Chuck rubs the back of his neck, and he, too, stares down at Max instead of up at Mako. "I was so focused on clearing my name that I forgot you lost your adopted father."

His gaze slides out of focus for a few seconds. When he looks up, Mako notices tears in his eyes. "He was always so proud of you."

All Mako can do is smile sadly. Thankfully, Raleigh comes up to the table with their trays in hand, giving her an excuse not to say anything.

There's no doubt in her mind Sensei loved her. But knowing Chuck's history with his father, what had Drifting with Sensei done to him?

* * *

The next six hours are a whirlwind.

After scarfing down breakfast, Mako and Raleigh had dashed back to their rooms to change into their dress blues for the press conference. Mako was grateful she'd styled her wig the night before in her fit of rage. She was also grateful Tendo had found clip-in extensions in every color of the rainbow. Navy blue was the clear choice for that morning.

The jaeger bays had been set up for over a hundred reporters, with a cloth-covered table and PPDC backdrop taking up the center of the Shatterdome. Once all fifteen seats at the press conference table had been filled—Newt and Dr. Gottlieb had rushed in just steps ahead of the early bird reporters—a frazzled-looking PR rep rattled off last-minute instructions.

Mako had seized Raleigh's hand once the first wave of reporters surged in, and she didn't let go until they'd trickled out. But much to her relief, the press conference wasn't the assault she'd been expecting. Only a couple of reporters tried to pry about sensitive topics—Chuck's survival being one—but their comments had either been dismissed gracefully by someone on the panel or shot down by someone on the PR team.

The day wasn't over when the reporters packed up their cameras. The press conference crew broke for lunch, still in their dress blues, and then bundled up for a trek out to the Breach—or what was left of it, anyway.

Raleigh smiled when he saw a tarp-covered memorial set up in front of the stump. Tendo had made good on his promise to Yancy, then. Raleigh was also relieved to learn that there would be no televised dedication at the Memorial Garden. That place would stay secret—and sacred—to the PPDC only.

The clearing in front of the Breach had been set up for the entire PPDC. Only a handful of reporters had been invited, judging by the few cameras set up at the back of the audience.

The front left rows had been reserved for those involved in Operation Pitfall—Lady Danger's crew, including Raleigh and Mako; Striker Eureka's crew, including Herc and Chuck; K-Science; and all of LOCCENT—while those on the right went to Cherno Alpha's and Crimson Typhoon's crews. Everyone else, from the cadets to the custodial staff, filled in behind them.

There hadn't been a dry eye in the audience when the PPDC Asset Retrieval team carried the fallen pilots' memorials down the carpeted aisle. Or when a teary-eyed Herc rose to give a speech.

"Stacker Pentecost used to say that Rangers were the 'knights of our time,'" he said, "'standing watch at the edge of our world. Ready for the dragons beyond.'"

He had paused for a moment to glance at each memorial on the makeshift stage. A photo of Cheung, Hu, and Jin Wei looking simultaneously composed and cheeky had been framed in red and gold. Sasha and Aleksis Kaidonovsky, their friendly smirks easy to miss behind their intimidating postures, had been framed in forest green and red.

Mako had lingered on Sensei's photo, the one taken of him when he'd just been promoted to Marshal. He'd looked so much younger then, but that had also been before his health had worsened, Tam had passed, and Jake had disowned his family and the PPDC.

Raleigh had sensed Mako's despair through the Ghost Drift, but he resisted the urge to reach for her hand. The reporters, he knew, were probably painting their own pictures of Operation Pitfall's heroes. They didn't need a love story to latch onto.

At least not yet.

Snow began to fall when Herc unveiled the memorial plaque, and it continued to fall long after most of the audience had retreated into the warmth of the Shatterdome. Only the Operation Pitfall survivors stayed behind.

"Beautiful speech, Marshal," Raleigh had managed, drawing closer to Mako once they were out of the reporters' sights.

"Don't call me that," Herc muttered as he blew his nose. "It fits like an oversized coat."

About that time, the Asset Retrieval team had been taking down the pilots' memorials, brushing snow off the photos before covering them up. Mako watched them go, and it hit her then that Sensei was really gone.

"You okay?" Raleigh had seen her gaze lingering on the person carrying Pentecost's photo.

"I want to say goodbye," she said, rising from her seat and brushing snow off her coat. "Will you come?"

Raleigh nodded, and he'd laced his gloved fingers in hers as they trekked through the snow-crusted landscape to the Memorial Garden.

* * *

Mako brushes off a layer of snow and fresh dirt before kneeling at Sensei's gravestone. There's nothing buried underneath, she knows. The Asset Retrieval team hadn't ventured that far into the Anteverse, and even if they had, there wouldn't have been anything to recover.

She takes a shaky breath in. Exhales. Opens her eyes.

It's the first quiet moment she's had all day. Even the Ghost Drift is eerily calm. After hearing nothing but camera shutters and recorder playback and sniffling mourners, the silence is deafening.

" _Sensei_ ," she begins, switching to Japanese as had been their custom, " _thank you. For everything._ "

Fond memories trickle through her mind: of her and Jake and Sensei going out for ice cream on a summer afternoon, Sensei and Aunt Luna telling ghost stories while a fire crackles in the fireplace, Sensei roaring with laughter when Mako lobs a snowball in his face. Her face feels warm, and she realizes she's crying.

Thoughts of Jake pry her broken heart further apart. Where is he? Did he and Sensei make amends before Operation Pitfall? Would she ever see her little brother again?

More than ever, she's grateful that Raleigh plans to stay in her life. She can't bear to lose any other part of her family. Dealing with Aunt Luna's death had been horrible enough. But then she'd lost Tam, the Weis, the Kaidonovskys, and Sensei within a year.

Mako glances at the pristine headstone next to Sensei's:

 **Tamsin Sevier**  
**Jan. 7, 1983 - Feb. 29, 2024**  
**Pilot of Coyote Tango | 2015 - 2017**

Tam's gravestone, too, marks nothing more than memories. After cancer took her, she was buried in her family's plot back in the UK. At least here, in the Memorial Garden, she and her co-pilot could be together in spirit.

The winter wind whistles through the trees, and Mako shivers in her snow-soaked coat. The hole in her soul is only growing wider, and she finds herself wanting to trade that pain for the radiation sickness all over again.

She bows to Sensei's headstone and then to Tam's before rising to her feet. Mourning would be tough. But as she glides solemnly through the rows of memorials toward Yancy Becket's final resting place, she knows she won't have to suffer alone.

* * *

A few minutes after Mako leaves his side to visit her Sensei's grave, Raleigh finds himself sitting cross-legged in front of his brother's weathered headstone.

A figure in a white drivesuit materializes in front of him. And for a second, he swears it's actually Yancy sitting on the headstone and smirking down at him.

 _You got lucky, after all_ , a voice in his head says.

"Hey, Yance," Raleigh whispers, not wanting to break the silence that had settled over the Memorial Garden. "Yeah, I guess we did."

From his perch toward the middle of the Memorial Garden, Raleigh spies the still figure of Mako, dressed in navy and sporting her dark wig, above the rows of white marble. Ever since Operation Pitfall, he'd been thinking he'd been more than lucky.

"I still don't get how I made it out," Raleigh tells his brother's ghost. "I was running out of air. Unless…"

But Yancy doesn't give him the answer he's looking for.

Saying it out loud, Raleigh realizes how ridiculous he sounds. "Yancy, did you save me back there in the Anteverse?"

Again, silence.

Raleigh sighs. "I still miss you, Yance," he says, rubbing his neck. He feels the familiar chain of his brother's dog tags under his fingers.

_I know you do, kid. But you remember what the Marshal said—you can always find me in the Drift. I'm in your brain, after all._

Raleigh smiles sadly, thinking back to the day Yancy had said those words to him before they stepped out of the Shatterdome for the last time together.

Memories of the Knifehead attack still hurt—and would always hurt, he figures. But the guilt that had come with it no longer stings.

Raleigh sniffs and wipes tears out of his eyes. And for the first time in three years, ten months, and twenty-two days, he removes Yancy's dog tags from around his neck.

"It's about time I gave these back," he mutters as he places them at the base of the headstone. He feels a warm hand on his right shoulder; for a second, he expects to find his big brother standing over him. Instead, it's Mako peering down at him. Raleigh grips her hand and returns a sad smile.

Yancy's no longer sitting on the headstone when Raleigh turns around. But for the first time in recent memory, he feels okay.

* * *

Raleigh and Mako quickly realize they have different ideas of decompressing after Sunday's madness. While Mako wants nothing more than to curl up under her covers for the foreseeable future, Raleigh is itching to hit the gym.

He at least walks his co-pilot back to her room, waiting until the last possible second to let go of Mako's hand. As he's changing out of his frozen dress blues into relatively warmer gym clothes, he feels the Ghost Drift calm down—Mako must be asleep.

After lying in the med bay for a week, Raleigh can't do much of anything at the gym. But at least trying to get his strength back kills a couple of hours. On the way back to his room just before dinner, Raleigh runs straight into Tendo.

"Becket boy, just the person I wanted to see."

"What's all that?" Raleigh asks as he peers into the crate Tendo is carrying.

"Scrap from Lady Danger's bay. We got the okay to turn this place into a museum, so we're starting to clean everything out." Tendo glances around before lowering his voice. "Between you and me, I'd hate to see this stuff go. The Lady was your jaeger. Think you or Mako would have any use for it?"

A wild idea rushes through his mind, and Raleigh freezes—but not for long. After a second's thought, it doesn't seem that crazy, after all.

"I think I can find a good use for this." Raleigh grins as he takes the crate. "Thanks, Tendo."

Tendo raises an eyebrow, but he doesn't ask Raleigh what he's up to. Raleigh doesn't tell him. As he races back to his room with the pile of scrap in tow, he's grateful for once that Mako can't see what he's planning.

This is the one surprise he wants to keep a total secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter I write seems to get longer than the last. Oops.
> 
> I wanted to include a lot of emotional bits in this chapter, which was all about how our heroes wanted to honor their fallen comrades. Those include...  
> \- the unveiling of a memorial plaque in front of the Breach (I'm going to focus on it a little more in upcoming chapters)  
> \- Herc quoting Stacker's speech about the "dragon slayers" of the PPDC (taken from the "Tales From Year Zero" comic; this phrase will show up more in Part Four!)  
> \- Raleigh finally taking off Yancy's dog tags to show he's moving on after Knifehead
> 
> Some things I just couldn't squeeze in here, so they'll be cropping up in the next couple of chapters. Thanks for keeping up with this story!


	13. We Canceled the Apocalypse—How About a Party?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WILL SPORADICALLY UPDATE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE—SEE END CHAPTER NOTES**
> 
> * * *
> 
> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "Verge" by Owl City and Aloe Blacc  
> \- "Dance With You" by Live  
> \- "Toxic" by Britney Spears  
> \- "Hey Ya!" by OutKast  
> \- "Glad You Came" by The Wanted

**MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2025**  
**THE SHATTERDOME MESS HALL**

 

_Thunk!_

Until Tendo's fist hit the table, Mako hadn't been paying attention to anything but the sandwich in front of her. She jumps at the same time Raleigh twitches in surprise, and Tendo's smirk grows a little wider.

"I'm tired of the long faces," Tendo says, making eye contact with everyone at the Operation Pitfall table. "It's been a rough week. But we saved the world—it's time to celebrate!"

Everyone at the table turns expectantly to Herc. Mako, however, frowns and turns her attention back to her sandwich, just to avoid the empathetic look she knows Raleigh is giving her. The Shatterdome echoes with Sensei's absence, and all she wants to do is curl up under the covers and shut out her adopted father's ghost.

Herc clears his throat.

"As your friend," he says to Tendo, "I'm all for it. Could use a little cheering up. But as Marshal…"

He frowns and takes a bite out of his pasta. Chews thoughtfully. Takes a sip of water. Everyone else at the table is holding their breath, and Tendo looks like he'll jump out of his skin if he has to wait much longer.

Finally, Herc finishes his thought. "I'll allow it."

"Yes!" Tendo jumps out of his seat and slaps the table excitedly. "Okay, party starts tonight at 19:00. Be there or…" He trails off when he makes eye contact with Mako. She must be wearing a pitiful look, because he finishes with, "or try to be."

Raleigh's hand brushes hers. _Don't feel like going to a party?_

Mako shakes her head as she watches Tendo race out of the mess hall. The nightmares had returned with a vengeance after the memorial service. With them came painful reminders of Jake's absence as well as Sensei's. Surely after the televised memorial service, she would've heard from her little brother, right?

 _I think I just need to be alone today_ , she replies.

Raleigh's face falls—she doesn't have to look at him to know that. But he doesn't try to change her mind. He knows all too well what it's like to lose a family member. And to a kaiju, no less.

He squeezes her hand twice. _Take all the time you need. I'll be here._

They finish their meals in silence, content with listening to the conversations around them. Newt and Dr. Gottlieb are chattering away in German again, finishing each other's sentences and growing louder with every word. The J-Techs and LOCCENT officers that had been at the table before the press conference had abandoned the Operation Pitfall table for another (quieter) spot in the mess hall.

Chuck and Herc aren't saying much of anything, either, but from the looks on their faces, they're clearly communicating through the Ghost Drift. Until Chuck storms off with Max on his heels.

Mako gives up on her lunch, which doesn't escape Raleigh's notice. He gets up from the table, too, grabbing Mako's tray as well as his own. "I'll take these back," he says. "Go get some rest."

Sleep is certainly on her mind, but Mako doubts it'll help.

About two hours later, she finds herself staring at the ceiling with no promise of rest in her immediate future. The silence in her room is deafening, but she can't reach for her phone; her arms are filled with lead. She could use a distraction—her books and Titan Redeemer's Morning Star hand have turned gray with dust—but there's an anvil sitting on her chest.

Her mind is the only part of her roaming free. It had been fixating on the irritants keeping her awake—the stiff mattress pressing against her heels, her wool sweater catching on her circuitry burn scabs, the pillowcase scratching her stubbly scalp. Now, it's racing back to the little house on the bay.

To New Year's Day 2019.

The world is covered in a white blanket, and silent except for boots crunching snow under their soles. Mako and Jake barely breathe as they crouch by Tam's car. The snowballs in their hands and arms are starting to melt.

Finally, the front door creaks open. While Mako peers around the front tires, Jake looks over the fender; they both spot a familiar black coat at the same time.

"Now!" Jake hisses. The siblings stand up and fling snowballs at the threshold. Their munitions brush the coat's fabric and burst into snowflakes against the wall or concrete steps. It's only after they run out of snowballs that they realize no one is actually wearing the coat.

"Gotcha!" Tam shouts from the shadows. The jacket disappears, and out pop Tam and Sensei, who shrugs the black coat over his T-shirt.

Tam rakes a fist full of snow in her bare hands and flings it in Mako and Jake's direction, but the snow clumps dissolve into flurries just above the car. While Tam reloads, Sensei darts into the yard and takes cover behind a tree.

Mako reloads first, and she lobs a snowball in Sensei's direction. After it explodes against the trunk, Sensei peeks out to grin before disappearing again.

Jake, meanwhile, is taking cover from Tam beside the garage door. His aim is a little better than Mako's; Tam shrieks in delight when a snowball bursts against her shoulder.

"I'll get you back for that!" She calls, abandoning her post with two snowballs in her hands. Jake practically slips on the ice as he races away laughing.

They toss around snowballs for half an hour, but Sensei still manages to stay out of snowball's way. After a brief strategy meeting—or Mako and Jake grunting and gesturing at each other behind Tam's car—Jake darts into Sensei's line of fire while Mako sneaks around the other side of his hideout. Sensei's throw narrowly misses Jake—but Mako's doesn't miss Sensei.

Everyone freezes when the snowball explodes in Sensei's face.

"Sensei!" Mako sprints to his side. "I'm sorry, I didn't meant to—"

But he just roars with laughter. A few seconds later, the rest of the family joins in.

Mako emerges from the memory with hot tears streaming down her face. She feels a wave of reassurance wash over the nostalgia, but it doesn't drown out the grief completely. Knowing Raleigh has her back at least gives her an inkling of peace.

From the corner of her room, the Demon Slayer watches over Mako as she cries herself to sleep.

* * *

"Hey, Becket boy!"

Raleigh steps back out of his room and glances down the hallway. Tendo is making a beeline for him. There's a box filled with what looks like gold streamers and glass punch bowls in his hands, and Raleigh figures he hasn't taken a break from party-planning since mentioning the idea at lunch.

"Glad I caught you. Are you coming to the gala tonight?"

Raleigh nods. "Sounds like fun. Beats sleeping all day or cleaning out the jaeger bays."

Tendo's off-hand comment to Raleigh the day before had come just an hour before Herc's announcement that the Shatterdome would soon become a museum. Since then, everyone had been hard at work clearing scrap out of the jaeger bays, setting aside memorabilia, and steeling themselves to pick up and move to the other side of the world—Shao Industries would be the J-Techs' new home, and the company's new jaeger testing and pilot training facility would be accepting everyone else.

With no kaiju to fight ("for now, at least," Mako had said when Raleigh told her the news), even the jaeger pilots had been pitching in. Just that morning, Raleigh had started helping Cherno Alpha's crew clean out Crimson Typhoon's bay; the crews had unanimously agreed to switch off.

Everyone had also agreed the Weis' basketball goal and Kaidonovskys' stereo would stay put. Preserved for posterity.

Tendo's eyes flick over to Mako's door. "She coming, too?"

Raleigh shakes his head. "It's been a rough week." At least the Ghost Drift had settled down within the last hour; Mako must've finally fallen asleep.

"Well, listen, if there's anything I can do to help, just say the word. I'm glad you're coming. Herc and Chuck will be there, and so will Newt. Gottlieb I'm putting down as a 'maybe.'" Tendo chuckles to himself, and Raleigh figures Dr. Gottlieb's response had included a good deal of _harrumphing_ and a long-winded speech about numbers being of penultimate importance.

"Oh, by the way," Tendo says before darting back down the hallway, "the party's semi-formal. What are you gonna wear?"

Raleigh shrugs. "I guess my dress blues. That's all I've got."

Tendo's shocked expression almost makes him laugh. "No. No, no, no," Tendo says. "You're not wearing your dress blues. Give me an hour—I'm sure I can find something for you."

Raleigh chuckles as he watches Tendo sprint down the hallway—no small feat considering he's carrying that box of party decorations. He sighs wistfully as he steps back into his room for a much-needed shower.

The last time Raleigh had attended any kind of semi-formal party had been his ROTC military ball freshman year. He and Yancy had both taken fellow cadets as dates; they'd been the first to walk through the French ballroom doors and the last to leave the dance floor.

The ballroom at the one hotel just off-campus had looked as lavish as the palaces in Disney fairy tales—the marble floors gleamed in the light of crystal chandeliers, ladies in colorful ball gowns glided across the dance floor, and a live brass band serenaded the crowd long into the night. It had been almost perfect.

The cold shower shakes Raleigh out of his memories. He doesn't doubt Tendo would work his magic to transform the greasy gray jaeger bays for the occasion. But he knows the celebration would be bittersweet; after all, six pilots had died in the past two weeks, and dozens more had given their lives over the course of the Kaiju War.

Plus, Mako wouldn't be there.

Raleigh tunes into the Ghost Drift as he shrugs on a warm sweater. It's still calm. At least Mako seems to be taking Sensei's death in stride. Still, he won't let her grieve alone if he can help it.

 _Sleep well, Mako_ , he thinks. _I'll be here when you need me_.

* * *

Mako hears the excited murmurs before she even steps into the mess hall. That evening's gala seems to be the only thing on everyone's minds. And that includes those at the Operation Pitfall table.

"—frivolous nonsense," she overhears Dr. Gottlieb mutter even from across the room, "is distracting us from important research."

"Oh, lighten up, dude," Newt says with his mouth full. "A few hours of fun won't kill you."

"You and I have two drastically different ideas of 'fun.'"

"Stick-in-the-mud."

Mako figures Dr. Gottlieb's response is some kind of German insult. Newt's reply—also in German—must be equally scathing, considering Dr. Gottlieb turns beet red and thumps his fist on the table. She quickly passes their side of the table and slides in next to Raleigh.

Tendo's seat is empty, and she figures it's because he's scurrying around getting everything ready for the gala. Herc isn't there, either— _duty calls_ , Raleigh tells her before answering Chuck's question.

"I'm sure if Tendo's planning the party, he's the one in charge of the music."

"It better not be his electronic jazz," Chuck murmurs.

"Electro swing."

"Whatever." Chuck stabs at his pasta. "He needs to put actual party music on that playlist of his."

"Yeah? Like what?"

Mako can feel Raleigh's shoulders tensing. _I'm staying out of this one_ , she tells him as she picks at her food.

But before Chuck can reply, the other half of the Operation Pitfall table breaks out into a shouting match. Newt and Dr. Gottlieb are halfway out of their seats and leaning over the table before Raleigh and Chuck jump up to separate them.

Eager onlookers swarm to the Operation Pitfall table in hopes of seeing the two K-Scientists duke it out. Someone starts chanting "fight, fight, fight," and soon the entire mess hall is abuzz. They're all too busy to notice Mako slink away from the table with her hands covering her ears.

Even from inside her room, she hears Herc bark orders over the din in the mess hall. An eerie silence soon settles over the Shatterdome. But at least it's quiet again.

A few minutes later, she hears a knock at her door and a muffled voice say, "Mako?"

It takes her a minute to untangle herself from her covers, but Raleigh is still standing there when she opens the door. "Hey," she says.

"Hey." His warm smile cheers her up just a little. "I didn't see you leave. You okay?"

"It was too much for me." The maelstrom of thoughts had been bad enough; Newt's and Dr. Gottlieb's screeching and everyone else's yelling had been overwhelming.

"That's what I figured. Want to talk about it?"

She figures he's not talking about the incident in the mess hall. Taking a slow, steadying breath, she leaves the solitude of her room and lowers herself onto the concrete steps. Raleigh sits beside her.

They don't need to speak. She knows Raleigh can sense thoughts of Sensei and Jake swirling around in the Ghost Drift. But which thought hurts worse—that she'll never see her adopted father again, or that she has no idea if her brother is still alive?

A warm hand pulls her back to reality. And pulls her close as she starts sobbing.

* * *

True to his word, Tendo knocks on Raleigh's door a half-hour before the gala with a navy suit draped over his arm. Raleigh takes it with a small smile, hoping Tendo will forgive him for only staying at the party for an hour—Mako doesn't need to spend the whole night alone.

It fits as well as a borrowed suit could, but it'll work. Raleigh spends most of the time in front of the mirror fussing over his cap. It looks odd with the suit and bowtie, but Raleigh still can't get used to seeing his bald reflection. He eventually gives up and shoves the cap back on his head.

Yancy's smirk from the Polaroid on the wall catches his eye, and he smirks back before stepping out of his room. His smile fades slightly at seeing Mako's closed door.

A slow, mournful melody ripples through the Ghost Drift, a sure sign that Mako had found a distraction. Maybe she would finally get the rest she deserves. At the very least, she would have something to keep her mind occupied instead of drowning in the whirlpool of what-ifs. Raleigh had dealt with his share of those after Yancy had been killed; he doesn't want his co-pilot going through the same thing.

Taking another lingering look at Mako's door, Raleigh sighs and strides toward the jaeger bays. If Newt and Dr. Gottlieb's fight had been any indication, everyone at the Shatterdome is on edge. A gala is the perfect excuse to let loose, even if just for a few hours.

* * *

Mako had run through nearly all of Daichi Miura's discography trying to find something to sing her to sleep. At 18:45, she gives up. Clearly, being alone with her thoughts isn't helping.

The gala starts in fifteen minutes. Mako sits up and sets her feet on the floor. Just thinking about being surrounded by people—even those she knows—makes her want to curl up under the covers again. Besides, she has nothing to wear except her dress blues. And she's not wearing those to a party.

But Raleigh would be there. And that would be enough.

With a heavy sigh, Mako pushes herself out of bed, steps outside her room, and trudges toward the new J-Tech quarters.

Only three women from the old Lady Danger Restoration Team had remained at the Shatterdome after the PPDC purge months earlier. They hadn't become fast friends, but they'd gotten to know each other well enough during all those long nights. If there were anyone Mako trusted at the Shatterdome besides Raleigh, it would be Jules Reyes, Lei Guo, and Nic Beauchene.

An upbeat pop song, muffled through the steel door, tells Mako that the three are still getting ready. She takes a deep breath and knocks.

"Mako!" Jules jerks her chin up in greeting and opens the door wide. "Come on in."

Britney Spears' "Toxic" had been the pop song Mako heard, and it's coming from the bathroom off to her right. In front of the mirror are Lei and Nic, the former in a jet-black pantsuit and the latter in a pale pink ball gown. Both look up and grin at Mako as Jules shuts the door behind them.

"It's good to see you out of the med bay," Lei says as she buttons up a jeweled cuff bracelet. "You really scared us, you know."

Mako smiles sadly. "Honestly, I didn't think we'd make it."

"But you did," Nic says, "and that's all that matters." She flashes Mako one of her infectious grins through the mirror's reflection. "Are you coming to the gala?"

"Maybe for a little bit." Mako plops onto the bottom bunk nearest the bathrooms. "It beats sitting in my room alone. But I don't have a dress. Jules, do you have one I can borrow?"

"No, but I think I've got just the thing." Jules struts over to her wardrobe, where colorful outfits hang beside navy J-Tech coveralls and dress blues. The cherry-red jumpsuit Mako spots first is the one that Jules grabs. "Nic has some jewelry you can wear to dress it up."

"Thanks, Jules." Mako holds up the jumpsuit in the mirror. "And you know what…" She twists the blue hair extensions brushing her shoulders. "I have something that'll make it perfect."

Mako darts out of the room and returns a few minutes later with red streaks framing her face. But it's only after ditching her navy sweater and dark cargo pants for the silky red jumpsuit that she starts feeling excited for the first time in days.

But she's not wholly thrilled. "Is it normal to feel nervous before your first semi-formal?"

"Ever?" Nic gasps. Her earrings flash under the bathroom light as she snaps her head around.

"Didn't you got to any high school dances?" Jules adds before turning back to the mirror to finish applying lipstick.

"Like prom or homecoming?" Mako shakes her head, admiring how the red hair streaks dance against her jet-black wig. "They weren't really my thing."

"You haven't missed much," Lei pipes up from her perch against the bunk. "It's just dressing up and dancing the night away. The only thing that changes is the music." She frowns. "Speaking of music, I wonder if Tendo will be taking requests."

"If he doesn't," Nic says with a cheeky grin, "I'll just swap out his playlist for mine."

"Oh? What's on your playlist?" Mako asks.

"Don't get her started," Jules groans, lightly punching Nic's shoulder. "She's been making a dance party playlist for years."

"Because cheesy pop songs help you forget about what's going on in the world." Nic sticks out her tongue. She cranks up her phone's volume, and a familiar line fills the cramped quarters:

"—shake, shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture!"

"I haven't heard this song in years!" Mako grins. Like every other time she's reminded of this song, Mako sinks into memories of simpler times, back into the diner where she and Raleigh were momentarily free of all responsibilities.

The other J-Techs must've noticed the dopey grin on her face, because Jules pipes up conspiratorially.

"So, what made you _really_ want to come to tonight's thing? A certain… someone?"

Mako notices Lei and Nic trade knowing looks.

"Yes, Raleigh is going to be there." Mako rolls her eyes but doesn't wipe the smile off her face. "But how about you? I noticed you and Ranger Lambert spending some time together."

"Oh, we've been a thing for months now." Jules grins at Mako through the mirror. "Tendo's still salty that he didn't make us part of his betting pool. Alright, Mako, let's get you all jeweled up."

She's about to ask what Jules means about Tendo's betting pool when she glances at the clock. "It's after 19:00. Shouldn't we get going?"

Lei and Nic catch each other's eye in the mirror again. "First thing you'll learn about semi-formals," Nic teases her, "is that you never arrive on time."

"That's right," Jules adds as she brandishes a makeup brush in one hand and dazzling gold necklace in the other. "You make 'em wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been eager to write this part for _months_ , so I'm glad I finally get to post it—or at least half of it. For my sanity, I've split it into two chapters.
> 
> With summer plans and other writing projects competing for my attention, I won't be sticking to a posting schedule anymore. But trust me, the chapters I do post from time to time will be worth the wait.
> 
> Thanks again to everyone who's been following this series so closely. Stay tuned for the next chapter, the highly anticipated Post-Operation Pitfall Gala.


	14. Can I Have This Dance?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "All Night" by Parov Stelar  
> \- "Gin Tonic" by Parov Stelar  
> \- "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC  
> \- "Sucker" by The Jonas Brothers  
> \- "No Secrets" by The Angels  
> \- "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO, Lauren Bennett, and GoonRock  
> \- "Timber" by Kesha and Pitbull  
> \- "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera  
> \- "Lights Down Low" by Max  
> \- "Tough Love" by Avicii, Agnes, and Vargas & Lagola  
> \- "Tenerife Sea" by Ed Sheeran  
> \- "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra  
> \- "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS  
> \- "At Last - Let Me in Your Life Outtake" by Aretha Franklin  
> \- "The Bones" by Maren Morris  
> \- "It's the Right Time" by Daichi Miura  
> \- "Lady Soul" by The Temptations  
> \- "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls

**MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2025**  
**THE SHATTERDOME, PACIFIC RIM NATIONAL PARK RESERVE**

 

Flashes of sapphire, silver, crimson, gold, and emerald green illuminate the jaeger bays. Two weeks ago, J-Tech coveralls, PPDC-issued sweaters, and the hulls of hulking machines had colored the slate-gray Shatterdome. Tonight, though, sparkling ball gowns and crisp suits fill it with happiness and hope.

The jaeger bays are unrecognizable. Tendo had dimmed the amber lights overhead to fill the space with violet, magenta, and cerulean spotlights. Gold streamers hang from the mezzanine railings and flutter whenever party-goers pass by. And a peppy piano melody drifts through the crowd trickling through the main doors.

"Tendo really outdid himself," Raleigh mutters to Chuck and Herc. The former grunts and latter nods; both take a long sip of spiked punch in unison.

From their perch near what had been Striker Eureka's launch bay doors, all three watch silently as J-Techs, LOCCENT officers, and mess hall staff alike make a beeline for the makeshift dance floor—yellow tape marking off a large square in between Crimson Typhoon's and Cherno Alpha's jaeger bays.

Raleigh smirks when he sees half of the dancers wearing their dress blues.

Some of the women on their arms, though, had donned gowns in a shade of blue Raleigh knows well. His mind wanders to the dance floor, imagining Mako taking him by the hand and slipping through the crowd, their feet tapping in time with the—

"Ugh, Tendo's music taste is awful," Chuck growls. "If I hear one more electro swing song…"

"Request something different, then," Raleigh huffs. He gulps down ice-cold punch to extinguish the flush rising on his face.

Chuck stalks away wordlessly, but to Raleigh's surprise, he doesn't throw a sneer over his shoulder.

"Hey! Request something _good_ ," Herc calls. A muscle in Chuck's face twitches, like he'd been about to smile but thought better of it.

As Raleigh watches him disappear into the crowd of dancers, a garish shade of purple catches his eye. In strides Newt wearing a fuchsia button-down, and on his tail is Dr. Gottlieb—not in his threadbare sweater, but in a sharp black vest and familiar-looking white shirt.

Herc stiffens and takes a loud sip of punch. The fight is still fresh in Raleigh's mind, too. The K-Scientists had practically clawed free of his and Chuck's grip to lunge at each other over the table. They would've succeeded had Herc not stormed into the mess hall.

Not surprisingly, Newt saunters toward the dance floor. Dr. Gottlieb, on the other hand, stalks toward the punch table. Raleigh doesn't blame him. The K-Scientist doesn't seem like one for parties, especially ones Newt would consider fun. But surely Newt hadn't dragged him along. What's he doing here, then?

Chuck, apparently, is thinking the same thing. "Weren't those two trying to kill each other earlier?" He picks up his punch glass where he left it, on a stack of boxes behind Raleigh and Herc. "And what's up with Gottlieb? He looks like he ate kaiju for dinner."

Raleigh shrugs right as a familiar guitar riff sparks cheers from the dance floor. "'Thunderstruck,' Chuck, really?"

"Hey, it wasn't my first choice. Tendo said he put my songs on shuffle." Chuck tips his punch glass and drinks until it's empty. Sighs. And then he lets out a loud belch before announcing, "I'm getting a refill."

The punch and hors d'oeuvres tables had been set up in Striker Eureka's and Lady Danger's bays, respectively. And the tables are surrounded. Chuck screeches along with AC/DC as he squeezes through the crowd. A few people flinch to cover their ears.

There's no telling how many drinks the guy has in his system—the Hansens had been nursing their drinks when Raleigh showed up. But based on the Chuck that Raleigh had known fresh out of Jaeger Academy...

"Think he'll wake up tomorrow with a killer hangover and no voice?" Raleigh shouts over the din.

Herc chuckles. He, too, gulps down the last of his drink, but he doesn't head to the punch table just yet. Raleigh figures it has to do with the new title on his badge and more responsibilities on his shoulders.

A few songs and drinks later, though, the three pilots start having a blast. Chuck had apparently gotten Striker Eureka's crew to request more of what he and Herc call "good music." The two belt out lyrics that Raleigh doesn't recognize, even if they had been singing on key.

Raleigh joins in when he does know the tune, finding he still remembers the lyrics from childhood hits like "Party Rock Anthem," "Timber," and "Moves Like Jagger" ("or moves like _jaeger_ , am I right?" Raleigh overhears one of the dancers say. That gets a groan from everyone nearby.)

Most of Tendo's playlist, however, he's never heard before. Judging by the shrieks rippling through the crowd when a new song blares through the speakers, the music had come out within the last three years, ten months. They hadn't been on Mako's playlist, either; it looks like they still have some catching up to do.

_Mako._

Whether it's because of the booze in his system or because she's sleeping, Raleigh can't sense what she's doing. And just like that, exhaustion hits. The punch sours on his tongue, the Hansens' off-key yowling starts giving him a headache, and the sweeping spotlights blind him.

It doesn't help that the song that just started is a slow one.

He sets his punch glass on the crates behind him and waves to get the Hansens' attention. At least one of them is somewhat coherent. "I'm turning in," Raleigh shouts over Chuck's off-key crooning. "See you in the morning, Herc."

Herc's eyes shift to a point just over Raleigh's shoulder, and Raleigh figures it's the spiked punch's doing. But Herc's lazy grin makes Raleigh think twice.

"Nah, mate," he says. "I don't think you're goin' anywhere."

Raleigh turns to see what Herc is looking at. The last few stragglers are gliding through the jaeger bay doors. He recognizes the woman in yellow—he'd seen her among Lady Danger's J-Tech crew, but in the chaos leading up to Operation Pitfall, he hadn't caught her name. The two women walking arm-in-arm next to her only look vaguely familiar.

But then he spies the woman in red.

And time stops just like the war clock above the jaeger bay doors.

* * *

Mako freezes just inside the jaeger bays. The bright lights, vivid colors, thrumming bass—it's too much. Her silent quarters and stiff mattress don't seem so bad now. Even if all there is to do there is grieve alone.

"Hey." Jules lays a hand on her shoulder. Behind her, Nic and Lei exchange concerned looks. "You okay?"

Mako takes a deep breath and nods.

"You don't have to come if you're not feeling up for it."

"I know. I won't stay long," she murmurs, "but since I'm all dressed up…"

Jules gives her a small smile and squeezes her shoulder, then the two of them rejoin Nic and Lei near what Mako assumes is the dance floor. The crowd is swaying along with the beat, quick and vaguely Celtic.

A familiar figure approaches the four of them, and Mako isn't surprised to see Ranger Lambert in his dress blues.

"Ranger Mori. Miss Beauchene. Miss Guo." He nods politely to Mako, Nic, and Lei. "And Jules."

Jules returns his genuine smile with a coy grin. "Nate. Want to dance?"

Ranger Lambert merely extends an arm for her to take, but Mako notices he's holding his head a little higher as the two saunter toward the dance floor. The couple disappears into the crowd, although not before Jules turns around to wink at her friends. Nic and Lei snicker.

"That reminds me: What was Jules saying about a betting pool Tendo started?" Mako asks them.

"Oh, he's had one going for ages," Nic shouts over the song's chorus. "He swears he can tell who'd make a great couple. The ones who dance around their feelings"—here she glances slyly at Lei, who rolls her eyes—"pay off big time. But those two he didn't see coming."

"Why not?"

"Jules met Nate on her first day at the Shatterdome. They hit it off like that." Lei snaps her fingers for emphasis.

"But Tendo was so busy," Nic jumps in, "that he didn't figure it out until six months _after_ they were already dating."

Mako turns back toward the crowd off to her right. Jules and Nate are nowhere in sight, likely lost amid the sea of dancers. The song had since changed to a mellow tune Mako recognizes as Ed Sheeran, and everyone had paired up.

Had Tendo included her and Raleigh in his betting pool? He'd known them in college, back when they were part of the Drift experiments. But the three of them are friends—surely Tendo wouldn't try to profit off them, right?

A gentle hand on her shoulder brings her out of her thoughts.

"Looks like we'll be seeing you later," Nic whispers in her ear.

A panicked response rises in her throat, but it melts away when Mako sees what—or who, rather—Lei is nodding to.

If not for his Lady Danger knit cap and puppy-dog grin, Mako wouldn't recognize the man emerging from the crowd in front of her. Raleigh seems to be floating, his self-assured swagger replaced by quick steps filled with purpose. The navy suit fits his frame well, even if the jacket hugs his shoulders a bit snugly. The scruff he'd collected after a week's stint in the med bay had vanished.

Mako blinks to find Raleigh standing just a foot away from her.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" He teases. A spotlight flashes by, and the colorful beam turns his eyes cerulean.

"You look good," Mako says once she finds her voice. "You clean up well, Mr. Becket."

"Oh, it's Mr. Becket now, is it?"

Mako finds she can't smile any wider. Her eyes flick sideways, and she catches Nic and Lei giving her thumbs-up before melting into the crowd.

"I didn't think you were going to make it," Raleigh mutters, sliding his hands in his pockets. "But I'm so glad you did. What changed your mind?"

She mimics his pose. "I figured being alone wasn't helping."

She figures she'll be spending more than enough time alone in the coming weeks, just to get away from the noise and the pitying stares and the incessant ghosts. But tonight… tonight she could make an exception.

Raleigh extends a hand. "Want to get away from the crowd?"

Mako nods, letting him lead her through the dancers toward a covered stack of crates, which Chuck and Herc are leaning against. Herc, at least, straightens when she and Raleigh approach. Chuck must have a few drinks in his system, because he'd dropped his stiff Ranger composure like the leather jacket lying at his feet.

"Miss Mori," Herc nods. "You look nice."

She bows in thanks and glances over at Chuck. He's got a half-empty glass of red liquid in his hand and is staring at—no, past her. That faraway look in his eye tells Mako he's somewhere other than the Shatterdome.

Herc must've noticed, or at least he senses his son's RABIT chase through the Ghost Drift. He elbows Chuck, who snaps back to the present. Drinks his punch like nothing even happened. But all four pilots know better. And judging by the melancholy look on Herc's face, it's clear Chuck hadn't been lost in his father's memories.

Mako shifts uncomfortably in her flats—the only nice pair of shoes she owns aside from her glossy black Oxfords—and shoves her hands back in the pockets of her borrowed jumpsuit.

"I'll get us some punch," Raleigh mutters in her ear, reading her mind before she'd even made it up. He squeezes her hand twice before disappearing into the crowd, another dark figure amid dozens of others.

Mako doesn't realize she's staring after him until Herc clears his throat.

"So, Marshal." Addressing Herc that way still doesn't feel normal, but at least the title had gone to someone Sensei trusted. At that thought, her stomach tightens. "We haven't had much chance to talk since…"

Herc just nods. No need to finish that sentence.

"How's the new role?"

"Title still doesn't fit," he mutters, swirling a few drops of punch around in his glass. "I'm amazed that, uh…" He clears his throat a couple of times and takes a sip out of the all but empty glass. When he speaks again, his voice quivers. "Stacker was made for this role. I'm just here to fill the position."

Mako nods. She figures the reason he's being so candid has something to do with the now empty glass in his hand. That, and maybe that she's his old friend's adopted daughter.

 _Was_ , she thinks bitterly. A sob bubbles up, but Raleigh walks up just in time with two full glasses of spiked punch in his hands. She drinks eagerly, trying to wash down the lump in her throat.

She'll have days, weeks, months to grieve. The hole Sensei left behind will shrink eventually. But for now, all she wants to do is enjoy even an hour of bliss before the melancholy settles in. After saving the world, she deserves that much, doesn't she?

A strong arm wrapping around her shoulder pulls her away from that train of thought. Raleigh had picked up the conversation she'd been having with Herc, so he doesn't meet her gaze at first. It's only when she laces her fingers in his that he grins down at her.

Raleigh's face brightens even more when an old yet familiar swing tune drifts through the speakers. Mako can't quite place it, so she figures it must be part of Raleigh's memories: "Someday, when I'm awfully low…"

"Care to dance, Miss Mori?" Raleigh asks, setting aside his punch glass.

"'Miss Mori,' huh?" But she slides out from underneath his arm to set down her drink, too. Raleigh offers her his elbow, and the two float toward the dance floor arm-in-arm.

* * *

Tendo hadn't put all of Raleigh's song requests at the back of the queue, it seems. Frank Sinatra croons out of the speakers, enveloping him in nostalgia. For years, he'd wanted to dance to this song with someone special. Yancy had teased him about being a hopeless romantic the first time that fantasy had surfaced in the Drift. Raleigh had quickly reminded him that the Drift worked both ways; Yancy had left the Conn-Pod red in the face with Raleigh laughing at his heels.

 _I'm finally getting my wish_ , Raleigh thinks as he focuses on Mako's warm hand in his.

He finds a secluded spot on the outskirts of the crowd across from Cherno Alpha's jaeger bay, where he figures he and Mako can escape if need be. As he turns to take her in his arms, Raleigh sucks in a breath.

Mako looks stunning in red. The jumpsuit accentuates her small but steely figure like it had been made for her. Her hair extensions—he hadn't noticed she'd changed out the cobalt for crimson until now—frame her face perfectly. And like a moth to flame, he loses himself in her blazing brown eyes.

Luckily, his arms seem to work on their own accord, his left pulling her close and right hooking around her shoulder, gingerly avoiding her scabbing circuitry burns.

Mako hesitantly copies his pose and closes the gap between them. "I don't know how to dance," she murmurs. Blush creeps into her cheeks as she meets his eyes.

"Me, either." Raleigh grins sheepishly. "But I won't tell if you won't."

That gets a laugh out of his co-pilot and breaks the ice between them. They settle for swaying back and forth, rooted to the spot and in each other's embrace. Everything around them melts away as Frank Sinatra serenades them: "Lovely, don't you ever change…"

As the song fades, Raleigh pulls Mako into a hug and rests his chin on the top of her head. She wraps both arms—slender yet strong, just like the rest of her—around him, squeezing him tight. He doesn't mind a bit.

 _We survived_ , he thinks, knowing whatever he'd say aloud would come out shaky or slurred. They'd fought six kaiju. They'd endured radiation sickness. They'd lost friends—and family, in Mako's case. It's a miracle they're even alive, much less together.

 _We did_ , Mako replies. She sniffles, and Raleigh wishes he'd stuffed a few tissues in his pockets.

As an unfamiliar song wafts over them, a loud sob startles Raleigh back to reality. Mako turns around—it's not her, then. Over the '80s-sounding synth blaring through the speakers, Raleigh hears the sound again, and he spies Chuck and Herc looking red in the face.

Chuck is gasping like he's coughing up seawater, and he rubs his eyes with the palm of his hand as he darts through the oblivious crowd out of the jaeger bays. Herc follows a few steps behind, his face crumpling.

 _It looks like we're all grieving_ , Mako muses.

Raleigh nods. _How are you holding up?_

Mako's face crumples, and Raleigh pulls her close again.

"Hey, I've got you. Let's go somewhere quiet, okay?" Raleigh spies an opening in the crowd and cuts through, keeping an arm around Mako's shoulder.

There are still dozens of people milling around the hors d'oeuvres table near Lady Danger's bay, but it's dark and silent under the mezzanine level. Raleigh guides Mako here, and they slide against the wall onto the dusty concrete floor. If anyone had noticed the two disappear into the shadows, they graciously pretend not to notice.

Another slow song seeps through the speakers as Raleigh drapes an arm over Mako, rubbing small circles with his thumb over her bare shoulder. It takes him a minute to realize that the song is one he requested.

Mako sniffs and sighs shakily, leaning her head against Raleigh's shoulder. There's no need for him to speak; Aretha Franklin says everything he's thinking.

That's not to say silence would help his grieving co-pilot. "Want to talk about it?" Raleigh mutters.

She shrugs. "It feels like there's a weight sitting on my chest. Sometimes it's light, and I can go a day without noticing it. But sometimes, I'll remember something Sensei said or did..." She takes another slow, shaky breath. "And it feels like my chest is going to cave in."

Raleigh nods. The ghosts had been the hardest thing to deal with after losing Yancy. For months, he couldn't walk past a cafe without smelling the omelettes Yancy used to make, couldn't see a burgundy RAV4 without glimpsing Yancy in the driver's seat, and couldn't spy someone in a gray leather jacket without muttering his brother's name.

Sometimes he'd see Yancy in his own reflection—a shock of blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and (even a few years after Knifehead) a stoic gaze that didn't belong on Raleigh's face.

Here at the Shatterdome, Mako would be surrounded by ghosts of her Sensei.

"Losing someone sucks." Raleigh pulls her closer as she starts sniffling again. "Promise me you'll give yourself time to grieve, okay? It took me three years to move on after Yancy. I don't want the same to happen to you."

"I'll try," she mutters.

As Aretha Franklin's voice fades away, another slow melody settles over the Shatterdome. Through the golden curtain separating them from the hors d'oeuvres table, Raleigh watches tipsy party-goers pick at the last of the finger foods. He can't make out many of the blurry faces, but the fuchsia shirt and cane give Newt and Dr. Gottlieb away. For once, they look like they're having a civil conversation.

A small snore distracts him, and Raleigh glances down to find Mako's eyes shut and small frame relaxed. He grins and continues stroking her shoulder as he resumes people-watching.

* * *

A familiar piano melody drifts through her subconscious, and Mako slowly opens her eyes. She's surprised to find herself still sitting on the concrete floor of Lady Danger's jaeger bay. And that she hadn't been imagining the song in her head.

"Daichi Miura?" She mutters, her words thick with sleep.

"Yep," Raleigh says, though it comes out as a low rumble in her right ear. She lifts her head off his shoulder as Raleigh asks, "Did you nod off?"

"I must have." She takes a deep breath. The weight on her chest feels lighter than it did before she'd fallen asleep. Talking helped, after all. But guilt quickly fills the space grief had momentarily vacated. "Tonight was supposed to be a fun night. I've kept you from—"

"Mako. You lost your Sensei." Raleigh shuffles around to face her, leaning forward until they're just inches apart. What little bit of light is filtering underneath the mezzanine floor makes his ocean-blue eyes sparkle. "I'm happy you're here at all."

She gives him what she hopes is a smile, but she feels too weak to move. Crying, in general, drains her, and she's done enough of that today. It's also likely well past midnight. A good night's sleep is calling her.

Raleigh says nothing as they listen to the last few seconds of the song. As the last piano notes fade away, a soulful melody fills the space.

Nostalgia rushes through the Ghost Drift, and a tipsy grin crosses Raleigh's face. Mako doesn't have to peek into his head to remember this song. She'd listened to it several times since putting it on their playlist.

"Lying here beside you," The Temptations croon, "close as we can be…"

"How do you feel knowing Lady Danger is gone?" Mako asks, glad to have some semblance of a distraction from her grief.

"Bittersweet," Raleigh answers after a pause. "I shared good memories there with Yancy—literally." He chuckles. "And with you, too. But knowing we likely won't pilot her, or even Drift, again… that's going to be hard to accept."

He looks away, but not at anything in particular. Mako figures it's a RABIT chase, but she's too tired to follow along. A bitter taste lingers in the Ghost Drift when he snaps back to the present.

"Remember last week," he begins, still not looking at her, "when you wondered why Yancy and I were arguing over a girl named Naomi?"

Mako stiffens and draws her knees up to her chest.

"No, it's not like that. It all happened in high school—Yance and I met Naomi at a party. She had a thing for JROTC guys. And yeah, I liked her back then. But nothing ever happened between us." He fixes his gaze on his co-pilot. "The only reason I'm bringing this up is because Yancy had been right."

The conversation is hard to ignore in the Ghost Drift: _It's not like you were going to do anything about it—you don't know that—yeah I do Rals—_

"Look, Mako… I've never made any big decisions of my own. I've spent much of my life coasting because Yance took care of me. Going to PRU, joining the PPDC—that was just me following in his footsteps. But if there's anything I've learned since…"

Mako nods slowly. Exhaustion drapes over her like a blanket, but she does her best to keep her eyes open. Raleigh taking her hand certainly helps.

"I took too many things for granted," he says as he massages her hand with his thumb. "Like the fact that we would stay friends after I disappeared."

"Raleigh, I already told you—"

"I know." He glances away, but only for a second. "I came back here figuring I could make my life mean something. Make my own decisions for once. But I found something infinitely more precious when I stepped on that tarmac."

Grinning lazily, Raleigh starts singing along with The Temptations: "'Cause you are my, my, my, my lady soul… you warm my heart… when I grow cold…"

It feels like the most natural thing in the world for Mako to lean forward until they're resting against each other's foreheads. For a few seconds, they drown out the rest of the world, focusing only on each other's breathing. Mako doesn't doubt their heartbeats are in sync, too.

"I got another chance with you," Raleigh whispers, "and I'm not wasting it."

Elation washes over the exhaustion, and Mako feels giddy for the first time in recent memory. The last brass notes of The Temptations' "Lady Soul" melt away, ushering in an equally nostalgic tune. A familiar guitar melody echoes around the almost empty jaeger bays.

"Can I have this last dance?" Mako asks.

"I was hoping you'd ask." Raleigh stands first, pulling Mako gently to her feet. But they don't leave the shadow of the mezzanine.

Flecks of gold and magenta dance on the wall beside them as Raleigh and Mako sway on their feet in time with the nostalgic ballad. Four minutes seems to stretch into four hours as they hold each other's gaze. All the while, The Goo Goo Dolls serenade them:

"And I don't want the world to see me… 'cause I don't think that they'd understand… when everything's made to be broken… I just want you to know who I am…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, the Post-Operation Pitfall Gala. I trust the wait was worth it. ;) 
> 
> Because this series is Maleigh-centric, some of the side character development happens off-page. A few moments I'll allude to in later chapters, but I figure I should explain some now so the character changes don't seem so sudden:
> 
> \- Ever since Pitfall, Chuck has been getting lost in Stacker Pentecost's memories. Hence the faraway look he gets after apologizing to Mako (Chapter 12). And that half-smile he made at Herc's joke? All Stacker.
> 
> \- "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS is a sore spot for the Hansens. In this AU, Herc had spotted Angela as this song was playing at a bar, and they'd danced to it that night and at their wedding. Obviously, Chuck figured out its significance after Drifting with Herc. Thanks to the grief and drinks in their systems, the Hansens' tough facades finally crumble. Off-page, they retreat to Striker Eureka's old jaeger bay to at least start talking about the hole Angela left behind.
> 
> \- **_Potential "Pacific Rim: Uprising" spoilers here_** : In this AU, Newt has Drifted with a kaiju brain five times now. The first was in 2021 (mentioned in [Part Two, Chapter 5](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16525136/chapters/39463933)). The next two happened off-page in 2022 (Ceramander) and 2024 (Hound). The final two are in 2025 with the kaiju brain sample and baby Otachi, like in the movie. Because the Precursors' influence is infinitesimal and coincides with the bittersweet end of the Kaiju War, not even Newt recognizes his behavioral changes at first.


	15. Gone but Not Forgotten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **HEADS UP: Minor spoilers ahead for "Pacific Rim: Uprising"
> 
> * * *
> 
> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "Heart" by Flor  
> \- "Goodbye" by Cage the Elephant  
> \- "Still Breathing" by Alex Boye  
> \- "Next to Me" by Imagine Dragons  
> \- "Safe & Sound" by William Joseph  
> \- "Happier" by Marshmello and Bastille  
> \- "Hold You Down" by X Ambassadors  
> \- "Missing You" by The Vamps  
> \- "Anywhere With You Is Home" by Kurt Hugo Schneider, Sam Tsui, and Alyson Stoner  
> \- "In Her Honor" by Sleeping at Last

**WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2025  
** **KWOON COMBAT ROOM**

 

"I'd like to get another tattoo."

There's a question hiding behind that statement, Raleigh figures as he stares up at his co-pilot. The golden halo around Mako's bare head veils her face in shadow, but he can still see the glimmer of her chocolate-brown eyes. It's a view he could get use to. Too bad he doesn't have his camera with him.

"Yeah?" He asks. "What of?"

"Haven't decided yet." Extending a hand, Mako reaches down to help Raleigh off the floor, where he hadn't moved since Mako had thrown him over her hip to earn that match's fourth point. It wasn't the first time that morning that a sparring match had ended with him flat on his back.

Reluctantly, Raleigh peels himself off the cool mat and matches Mako's pose, leaning against his hanbō to rest his chin on his hands. The healing circuitry burns on his right side are complaining after five rounds in the Kwoon, but there's no way he's going to convince Mako to go easy on him.

"And you're right."

"I hate it when you read my mind," Raleigh teases, tapping his hanbō against hers. "So you wouldn't get another sword?"

Even if he hadn't seen Mako scratch absently at her left side after pitching the idea (and wince as her fingertips grazed her own healing circuitry burns), Raleigh would've figured she was thinking about her katana tattoo.

She'd gotten inked the day she'd turned eighteen, a mere five months before they met—Raleigh had seen her tattoo during their first Drift. The design had seemed too simple at first, not at all like the patchwork pieces most college students carved into their skin. Only after being inside her head did Raleigh learn the deeper meaning behind it. And he had that tattoo to thank, he figures, considering it was the only way Mako believed him about sharing a neural connection.

Raleigh blinks out of that memory to find Mako grinning and shaking her head. "What?"

"Just… you." She digs her phone out of her pocket. "Twenty minutes 'til lunch. One more round?"

Raleigh answers by snapping into a defensive stance, a smirk on his face. Mako mimics him.

"Know of any good"— _clack!_ —"artists around here?" Raleigh ducks as Mako whirls her hanbō around, hitting air where his shoulder had been.

She shakes her head. "Newt might."

"Good idea." _Thwack!_ "We should ask him at lunch."

Mako brightens at his use of "we," as Raleigh figured she would. And he can't help himself—he swings at her while she's distracted.

"Hey! That's cheating."

"One-zero," he chides. "Concentrate."

Mako comes at him with her hanbō instead of a clever quip, and Raleigh has to skitter back a few steps to avoid getting hit with the butt end of her staff. She takes a controlled step back, planting her feet and lifting her chin. _Better watch it._

_In your dreams._

Fifteen minutes later, both breathless and drenched in sweat, the two saunter out of the Kwoon and part ways at their respective rooms. They'd donned their signature accessories—Mako still hasn't taken the red streaks out of her wig—by the time they meet up at the Operation Pitfall table.

Just a few minutes after they sit down, Herc excuses himself, muttering something about the press and protestors as he slides a tray of uneaten scraps in Chuck's direction. Max barks happily as Chuck sets the food at his feet. But it's not long before the two of them leave, too, presumably for Max's afternoon walk around the Shatterdome.

With the acting Marshal gone, Raleigh feels less like a little kid passing notes in class when he elbows Mako. That doesn't mean he feels less embarrassed when Tendo catches his eye across the table. Thankfully, Tendo gets the answer to his silent question in the form of Mako asking Newt for tattoo advice.

"I know just the artist," Newt gushes after Mako finally gets his attention. "Here, lemme give you his number."

"First tattoo?" Tendo asks. His eyes widen—but only for a second—when she shakes her head. "Huh. You're always full of surprises, Mako."

But it's no surprise to Raleigh or Mako when Tendo agrees to cover for them. So, two evenings later, they leave the Shatterdome in the rearview mirror of a borrowed car—they hadn't asked Tendo for details, and he hadn't given them any.

Despite it being evening in the dead of winter, the drive along winding roads flanked with evergreens feels familiar. Not taking his eyes off the road, Raleigh reaches for Mako's hand. She doesn't let go of his until they turn into the gravel lot outside the tattoo shop.

The studio is empty save for their tattoo artist, a burly guy with long gray hair and a longer beard. Recognition flashes in his eyes when Raleigh and Mako walk through the door, but he makes no comment about two celebrities being in his tattoo studio. He just waves them over to his computer.

On the screen is a simple yet striking interpretation of Lady Danger's insignia: a jet-black shield flanked on either side by wings. But in place of the star, the artist had drawn a curved blade piercing through the insignia. A katana.

A grin breaks across Mako's face, and the artist turns to her with a twinkle in his eye.

"Where's it gonna be?"

After shrugging out of her winter coat and navy sweater, Mako brandishes her left arm.

Raleigh recognizes her steely gaze—it's the same one she'd worn after unsheathing Lady Danger's chain sword. _For my family_ , she'd cried as she'd freed them both from the effigy that had taken her parents and fellow Rangers, using the sword she'd forged herself. It's the same thought fixed in her mind now.

Awe renders Raleigh weightless. But unlike that moment in the Conn-Pod, Raleigh has no rig supporting him. He leans against the counter in what he hopes is a nonchalant way. If the artist's smirk is any indication, he'd failed.

"Okay, son, where's yours?"

Raleigh, too, sheds his winter layers, including the only non-PPDC T-shirt he owns. "Here," he says as he taps bare skin just over his heart. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Mako's face turn bright red. _And this one's for my family_ , he tells her.

A few hours later, driving through the dark once again—this time with raw skin and the buzzing of the tattoo machine echoing in their ears—Mako breaks the comfortable silence with, "like it or not, we're connected."

* * *

January 26th. Two weeks to the day since the Precursors' mining colony had imploded, destroying the only passage between Earth and the Anteverse. Nothing had blinked to life on the K-Watch channel since Scunner and Raiju had followed Lady Danger and Striker Eureka into the unknown.

In the week since the press conference, the world had relaxed. The kaiju were gone. Parades and block parties had occupied much of the evening news, at least for a few days. But then came the speculation: If the Precursors could create another Breach, when—and where—would one open up?

That's apparently what all the reporters kept asking Herc, because the Marshal had announced a month-long press tour beginning February 1st at the Shatterdome and ending at Shao Industries in Hong Kong.

Privately, Herc had told Operation Pitfall's survivors that it would be more of a fundraising campaign than a traditional press tour. Despite politicians contributing generously to the PPDC after seeing the mission's success—"wonder what Stacker would've said about that," Herc had muttered to Mako afterward—they'd need all the funding they could get to take the fight to the Precursors.

Whatever would come of the fundraising campaign, though, they could at least count on some money coming in from the PPDC's traveling Jaeger Program exhibit and soon-to-be permanent museum. Even though the Shatterdome wouldn't open its doors to tourists until the end of March, it had already begun feeling less like home to the people who'd lived within its walls for years.

That's what Mako finds herself thinking about on the Sunday before the press tour. The chaos around her had made the Ghost Drift unusually turbulent, so a rare empty table in the mess hall gives it a chance to settle down. In it, she recognizes her grief for Sensei, worry about Jake, and apprehension about leaving the Shatterdome. But there's melancholy in the Ghost Drift that's not hers.

"What's wrong?" She asks Raleigh quietly over dinner.

Raleigh just picks at his food. Thoughts of a silent, frigid shoreline ebb from his mind to hers, but they recede just as quickly.

"Hey." She squeezes his hand twice. "You can tell me."

He glances at the crowded tables around them. _Can we go somewhere private?_

She nods, and they get up from the table in unison.

The jaeger bays are buzzing with activity. All free hands are packing up tools, setting up holoscreens, and repainting everything from the mezzanine railings to the bay doors. The PPDC would give tourists a rosy picture of life at the Shatterdome, it seems.

Raleigh backs out of the chaos and nods toward the door at the end of the hall.

 _Are you sure?_ But Mako opens the door when Raleigh nods, gripping her hand tighter as cold air whisks past them.

Lady Danger's old bay looks lived in now. But some of the decor doesn't match Raleigh's memories. The WWII fighter jet posters had hung further to the right on the far wall. There had been no card table in the corner during Raleigh, Chuck, and Yancy's tenure as jaeger pilots—that had likely been a personal touch from Ace and Spades Smith.

A sob snaps Mako back to reality. Now it's her turn to grip Raleigh's hand tighter as she leads him up the stairs to the mezzanine landing. The railings they lean against still smell faintly of chemicals.

"What's wrong?" She asks gently.

For a minute, Raleigh doesn't say anything. He just slumps against her, wiping his damp eyes with his sweater sleeve. "The press tour starts Saturday," he eventually mutters.

She nods. It would be the last time they'd have another private moment like this—for a month, at least.

"We'll be overseas on the 28th."

 _Oh._ Memories of a rocky shoreline surface again. "There's no guarantee we'll be near a beach that night."

"Herc hasn't told you the schedule, either?"

Mako shakes her head. "The Marshal has his reasons."

That gets a quiet chuckle out of Raleigh. "He does, doesn't he?"

Silence envelops them. So does the frigid air inside the jaeger bay. They both shiver, and Raleigh scoots closer to Mako until there's no space between them.

"What if we went a month earlier?" Mako muses. "Would it break tradition?"

Raleigh glances down at her. "You'd go camping with me?"

"I'd understand if you want to mourn alone—"

"No! No, I'd like for you to join me." He goes quiet again, and his eyes slide out of focus. Chasing a happy memory, judging by the nostalgia rippling through the Ghost Drift. When he speaks again a few minutes later, his voice is hoarse. "Yancy liked you, you know."

Mako squeezes his hand. "And he loved you."

The evening of January 28th finds them huddled together against a fallen tree trunk bleached by the sun and salt water. There are no other campfires dancing along the beach, no other tents coloring the shoreline, no gentle waves glimmering in moonlight. In the overcast night, the inky sand melts into the obsidian sea, and that into the smoky sky.

"Thank you," Raleigh murmurs, his voice barely audible over the crashing waves and the crackling fire at their feet.

"You don't have to grieve alone."

"I know. But you've had so much on your mind with your Sensei—"

"Mourning isn't a contest, Raleigh. Sensei's... " She takes a shaky breath. Embers leap out of the flames and die in the frigid wind, leaving bright yet ghostly orange specks in her vision. Just like the flare that shot out of Striker Eureka's open hatch.

"His absence will hurt," she continues, "probably for the rest of my life. So will Yancy's. It makes sense to lean on each other."

The churning surf fills their silence and dredges up years' worth of shared and private moments:

_Moonlight bathes them in white as they huddle under Raleigh's coat… a cool ocean breeze drifts through the spruce trees… seawater bubbles up in the moat around Mako's sandcastle… the ground is frozen where Yancy's sleeping bag should've been…_

Weighed down by exhaustion and heartache, Raleigh and Mako collapse against each other. Neither move out of the winter chill into the tent, though the thought does cross their minds. Eventually, the sounds of their synced heartbeats and shushing waves lull them to sleep.

Mako can't remember who fell asleep first, but when she wakes up, she's curled up in her sleeping bag inside the tent. Soft gray light fills the empty space—it must be dawn. The fire had long since died, and the morning breeze swirls the ashes around charred logs.

She finds Raleigh's empty sleeping bag, neatly rolled up and resting on the fallen tree trunk, before she finds her co-pilot standing on the deserted beach.

"I see why you like beach camping," she mutters when she joins him just steps from the water. "The view is beautiful."

A cloudless pink sky hangs over the cobalt sea. Breaking waves send white foam sliding across the coffee-colored sands. A couple of sandpipers peck at the shore and leave behind gleaming footprints, which vanish as waves wash over the beach.

An icy breeze pushes them together, and Raleigh throws his arm around Mako, shifting his gaze from the horizon to his co-pilot. "It sure is."

* * *

Snow had begun falling ten minutes before the first press conference of the tour, leaving a white veil over the podium, reporters' chairs, and the memorial plaque to the podium's right. _Thank goodness Herc isn't one for long-winded speeches_ , Raleigh thinks as he rubs his bare hands together.

 _Here_. Mako nudges him, and he feels fire in his palm as she passes over one of her hand warmers.

He nudges her back. _Thanks._

_You're welcome. And remind me to dig my gloves out of my luggage—I thought it would be a little warmer._

_You mean you don't want to lose a couple of fingers to frostbite?_

Mako sighs, but Raleigh recognizes a hint of a smirk breaking through her otherwise stoic gaze. _I won't because we're in uniform, so just imagine I'm rolling my eyes._

They fall silent with the rest of the crowd as Herc steps up to the podium. In Raleigh's mind, Herc hadn't changed much since taking on the title and role of Marshal. He'd kept his beard and gruff demeanor, after all. But there, standing before the crowd clean-shaven and wearing a black top coat, Herc looks like a stranger. Speaks like one, too.

"On January 12th," he begins, "thanks to the brave men and women involved in Operation Pitfall, the Breach was sealed. But this is only temporary. Based on intel we've received from our K-Science division, we understand that the kaiju will return. We don't know when and we don't know how, but the good news is that we can start preparing immediately.

"We can build sturdier defenses," he continues. "Invest in better technology. Train elite Rangers to defend our world once again. But we cannot do that without your support."

Cameras shutters click and bulbs flash behind the seated crowd.

"This isn't just Canada's problem, or the United States' problem. Our world will never be safe unless we destroy the Anteverse. To quote the late Marshal Stacker Pentecost, we must unite one last time to ensure that future generations will never live in fear."

Those words ring in Raleigh's ears as he stares out the window of the private jet hours later. Just beyond Mako's shoulder, the snow-capped peaks of the Rockies are beginning to flatten into the Great Plains. It had been a long time since he'd been on a plane. He'd forgotten how awe-inspiring the view could be.

Mako stirs beside him, and Raleigh tears his gaze away from the window. She'd fallen asleep barely half an hour into the flight. He can't blame her. In the span of a month, she'd graduated from J-Tech to jaeger pilot, earned her scars fighting six kaiju, and lost virtually everyone she'd considered family. She deserves to rest.

 _We all do_ , he figures as he looks around the cabin. Chuck and Herc, at least, are fast asleep—their snores drown out the hushed hisses coming from Newt and Dr. Gottlieb's row directly in front of them. On the other side of the plane, Tendo is playing cards with the blonde LOCCENT officer. The other two are huddled under a blanket watching a movie.

For the next month, a few hours traveling between cities would be the only time they'd have to themselves, Raleigh figures. To process everything that had happened in the last month. And to figure out what the future would hold.

The Shatterdome wouldn't be their home in two months. Everyone at the PPDC would either be retiring or moving to Hong Kong to work for Shao Industries.

Raleigh sneaks another glance at Mako. They hadn't talked about the future, not really, but he had a feeling Mako wouldn't willingly leave the PPDC. Not when the kaiju are still out there and jaegers need to be built.

 _Stepping back into a jaeger is out of the question_ , Dr. Knight had told him. Maybe Raleigh can't be a pilot anymore, but there's no way he's letting that keep Mako out of a Conn-Pod. She belongs there. And as long as he's close to Mako, he can picture himself doing just about anything.

Raleigh drapes his arm over Mako's shoulder and settles back in his seat. _Our future is together, at least_. With that thought, he closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep.

* * *

Herc's words echo in Mako's mind, too, unearthing memories that she relives in her dreams. In the first, she's 22 years old watching Sensei tell the world that they're under attack. In the second, she's 13 with a hole in her soul the shape of Aunt Luna.

"Why did Luna volunteer?" Mako hears Sensei mutter from the dark kitchen. At hearing his voice crack, she freezes at the foot of the stairs. She'd never heard him sound so… broken.

Tamsin leans across the table to take his hand. "You know why."

Although Sensei's back is to her, Mako can see him move to wipe his eyes. "We both know she just wanted to slay a dragon."

"And we both know nothing you could've said was going to stop her."

The floorboards creak beneath Mako's socks as she takes a step closer, and she sucks in a breath. But before she can scamper upstairs, Tam calls out to her.

"Hey, kiddo." She beckons Mako to her side. Slowly, Mako pads across the kitchen to her Sensei's co-pilot. "What are you doing up so late?"

"I was thirsty," Mako mutters, curling up in Tamsin's lap.

"Is that code for you had another nightmare?"

Mako nods. She doesn't look her Sensei in the eye, even though he's sitting just across the table. She knows not to ask how Aunt Luna died. He wouldn't explain what happened. Tam, either. It must've been something horrible.

Tam squeezes Mako into a bear hug. A calloused hand closes around her shoulder in the present, and Mako blinks out of the memory to find a bleary-eyed Raleigh staring down at her.

"You're still awake?"

"Can't really sleep on planes," he says. "The view's nice, though." He nods the window beside her, and for a few minutes, she joins him in gazing at the sea of clouds and fields below them.

"Is that why you built it? The Dragon Slayer?"

It takes Mako a minute to figure out what he's talking about. "Oh, the mech. 'Dragon Slayer' would've been a good name for it, wouldn't it?" She curls her legs underneath her as she turns to face Raleigh. "No, Demon Slayer is my pet project. I built it hoping it would ward off the nightmares..."

Like Knifehead's beady blue eyes staring into Lady Danger's Conn-Pod. Or Tam tearing up at the kitchen table after getting her cancer diagnosis. Or the heavy silence filling the Pentecost house whenever Jake and Sensei were under the same roof.

"Hey." Raleigh takes her hand and squeezes twice. "Those are just memories."

"I know. They're still painful."

"Didn't say they weren't. But like you said, we should lean on each other—uh, I wasn't thinking literally, but this works."

Mako hums contentedly as she settles against Raleigh's left side. "We should bring pillows when we fly out of DC. But for now, your shoulder is more comfortable than this armrest."

"I'm flattered." But he caves in just a few minutes later, resting his head on top of hers. Soon, they're both fast asleep.

* * *

Everyone on the press tour knows the best PPDC memorabilia had stayed at the Shatterdome. Anything that hadn't already been tossed out, been recycled, or gone missing had been carefully placed in plexiglass cases to travel around the world. Based on the massive crowd at the National Air and Space Museum on February 8th, the general public couldn't wait to peek at the jaegers' technical drawings, Mark I-era drivesuits, sets of utensils from the mess hall, and splintered hanbōs from the Jaeger Academy.

But Raleigh's amusement over the whole thing quickly turns into concern. At the press conference immediately following the exhibit's ribbon cutting, reporters squawk over each other trying to ask uncomfortably personal questions about Operation Pitfall's heroes and life at the Shatterdome. Even the PPDC's PR reps are left speechless.  
Apparently, they'd all become global celebrities overnight.

As if the nosy reporters aren't bad enough, their route back to the hotel is clogged with adoring fans and angry protestors—"kaiju worshippers," Herc grumbles, earning him an annoyed look from Newt. By the time they reach their rooms, they're beat.

"I would've suggested sightseeing," Herc mutters to Chuck, Raleigh, and Tendo, "but I'm guessing no one wants to step foot outside anytime soon."

"I think we could all use a strong drink," Tendo pipes up.

"Won't be from the mini bar," Chuck says. Glasses clink as he slams the fridge door. "Nothing good there."

"Figures," Tendo snorts. "Liquor run, anyone?"

"I'll hold down the fort," Raleigh mutters as he collapses on his bed, still in his dress blues.

"What's the matter, Becket boy?" Tendo teases. "Don't you want to say hi to your adoring fans?"

Raleigh just groans.

Tendo chuckles, hanging up his blazer and shrugging on a plaid coat. "Chuck, you coming?"

"I'm with Ray on this one." Chuck sinks onto the other bed and starts flipping through the TV channels. ""Bring back some food, will you?"

"No promises. I'd need an extra set of hands"

"I was planning to stretch my legs," Herc says as he steps out of the bathroom, sporting civvies, a ball cap, and a pair of Aviator sunglasses. "I'll join you, mate."

A few minutes later, Tendo and Herc saunter out of the hotel room, leaving behind the two younger jaeger pilots and an awkward silence.

Not even a minute passes before Raleigh tries to break it. "Is it too early to wish I was back home?"

"Don't let dad catch you saying that." But there's no malice in Chuck's voice.

Ever since Operation Pitfall, Raleigh had noticed Chuck seemed more subdued. It was almost like he'd lost most of his arrogance when he'd lost his co-pilot. Now who did that sound like?

Dress blues hadn't been designed for comfort, so Raleigh reluctantly slides off the plush mattress to change into shorts and a T-shirt. "I didn't think we'd turn into celebrities."

"Yeah, well, perks of saving the world, I guess."

A familiar-looking jaeger flashes on the TV screen, and Chuck flips back before Raleigh can ask him to. The History Channel had apparently gotten old test footage of Brawler Yukon for a How It's Made episode. Raleigh flops back on the bed to watch it.

"We'll lose our fifteen minutes of fame eventually," Chuck mutters during the commercial break.

"Yeah?"

"Well, we don't have any jaegers to ride, do we? No jaegers, no pilots…"

"No raving fans," Raleigh finishes. "So where does that leave us?"

Chuck just shrugs. There's a glazed look in his eye, but Raleigh can't tell if he's just entranced by the TV show or sinking into a memory. Either way, the conversation is over. By the time the episode finishes, Tendo and Herc had returned with their arms full of food and booze, and the night gets a little blurry.

* * *

After DC comes NYC, and with it an extended stay in spacious hotel suites. The first couple of days are a blur of press conferences and overcast afternoons spent indoors away from the crowds. 

Mako hadn't minded much. Traveling tended to sap all of her energy, so while two of her three roommates went sightseeing in their free time, Mako caught up on the sleep she'd missed over the past month. At least until February 11th.

Operation Pitfall's survivors would be the guests of honor at the PPDC's inaugural fundraising gala and silent auction. (Much to Tendo's chagrin, the formal event is dress blues only.)

Because they'd be rubbing elbows with the world's elite, from billionaires to politicians, Herc had told them repeatedly that they needed to be on their best behavior. That, Mako figures, would be a problem.

Had the world's elite kept funding the Jaeger Program, the PPDC would've had an army at its disposal. A whole fleet of Mark Vs with combat-ready pilots, not a rag-tag resistance made up of last-resort jaegers and Rangers. That army could've taken down Otachi and Leatherback with minimal casualties.

And maybe Sensei, the Weis, and the Kaidonovskys would still be alive.

The first person she recognizes in the receiving line is none other than the American UN representative she'd seen on TV. Herc stiffens when the man shakes his hand, which makes Mako feel a little better. Clearly, she's not the only one holding a grudge.

"Heard about the former Marshal," the American says to Herc. "Tragic what happened, but he made the ultimate sacrifice. The world appreciates what he and you've done, Marshal Hansen."

 _But I speak for my fellow representatives when I say that we will not continue to fund a, quite frankly, failing military program_. His ghostly words of just eight months prior echo in Mako's mind. It's all she can do not to bare her teeth as the American comes over to shake her hand.

"Miss Mori. It's a pleasure to meet you."

 _It's Ranger Mori, and the feeling isn't mutual_ , Mako thinks, pasting on what she hopes looks like a smile. To her right, Raleigh coughs into his elbow to hide his laughter.

"And you must be Ranger Becket." The American slides in front of Raleigh and locks both of his hands in a vice grip. "I was glued to my seat during Operation Pitfall. You single-handedly saved the world, son."

Raleigh tenses. A few choice phrases run through his mind, and Mako is grateful she's not the only one struggling to keep her cool.

"You give me too much credit," Raleigh growls. "Without Ranger Mori, or Rangers Pentecost and Hansen, we wouldn't be having this conversation today."

Thankfully, the American doesn't interpret Raleigh's warning as modesty. Like a fish, the representative opens and closes his mouth. Raleigh holds the guy's gaze until the American looks away and scuttles off.

 _Thank you_ , Mako tells him.

Raleigh glances down and winks.

The giddy feeling she gets doesn't last. As the night wears on, Mako's stomach churns at the sugary-sweet sentiments filling the politicians' speeches. It's not like she can just disappear into the crowd. Operation Pitfall's heroes had been placed at the center table right in front of the stage. All eyes in the ballroom are on them. And Mako can feel her diplomatic facade splintering with every speech.

She hadn't realized she'd been clenching her fists until Raleigh taps her hand under the table. _You okay?_ He asks, not taking his eyes off the Panamanian representative at the podium.

 _No_. Mako gulps down her glass of champagne to calm the furious flush on her face. _They're praising themselves for donating to a good cause. Fighting over scraps of the Jaeger Program when they were the ones who defunded it in the first place._

 _You're right_ , Raleigh replies. _It's not fair._

"Ladies and gentlemen," the gala's emcee announces, interrupting their train of thought, "this is your last call to place your bids for the silent auction."

Raleigh clenches his jaw. _Let's just get through tonight._

 _I'll need more champagne for that_. Mako frowns at her empty glass.

It takes two more glasses of champagne for Mako to lose that curdled feeling in her stomach and plaster on a smile for the rest of the night. At least the guests seem more interested in their silent auction prizes rather than the guests of honor. Most of the politicians and billionaires leave Operation Pitfall's survivors alone, which leaves Mako and Raleigh free to find a secluded corner of the ballroom.

But they don't stay hidden long.

Mako is sipping her fourth drink of the evening when another American—a Texan from his accent—saunters up to her and Raleigh. In the man's beefy hand is a framed blueprint of Lady Danger.

"Sign this for me, will you, sonny?" The Texan drawls.

Raleigh just stares at the Sharpie in the man's outstretched hand. _Mako, is he really…?_

_Asking for your autograph? Apparently, yes._

"No, thanks," Raleigh mutters, gulping down the rest of his champagne.

"Aw, c'mon. You're the only one left."

Raleigh stiffens, and Mako sucks in a breath. Instinctively, she steps between her frozen co-pilot and the Texan. "With respect, sir," she hisses, "jaeger pilots are not celebrities. Don't treat us like we are. We're only considered heroes because we sacrificed when no one else would."

"Now miss, there's no need to get—"

"Is there a problem here?"

Mako tears her gaze away from the Texan only to find herself staring at Sensei's ghost. She blinks. It's just Chuck standing behind the politician, but the steely gaze and commanding aura aren't his. The Texan slinks away, muttering apologies.

All Mako can do is nod a _thank you_ at Chuck before pulling Raleigh out of the ballroom.

The landscaped balcony off the banquet hall is spacious and silent, despite towering over bustling city streets. Mako steers them to a dark corner far from curious onlookers and politicians with no decorum.

"Are you okay?" She mutters, laying her hand on top of Raleigh's.

He nods slowly. "Nice save back there."

"We have Chuck to thank. I don't know what else I would've said."

"I think you would've decked the guy."

"Yes, that thought did cross my mind."

Raleigh chuckles. "I know it did."

For a few minutes, they slip into a comfortable silence, listening to the wailing sirens and honking cars on the streets below. A brisk winter wind picks up, ruffling the evergreen shrubs on either side of them. Raleigh and Mako slide closer together.

"So what now?" Raleigh mutters.

"Hm?"

"What happens after… this?"

Mako sighs. Her breath coils like smoke into the starless night sky. "Hopefully no more of these galas."

"Political life doesn't suit you, huh?" Pearly moonlight brings out Raleigh's lazy grin.

"One was enough. Can you picture me forcing a smile at events like this? Or shaking hands with people I hate on principle?"

Raleigh rolls his eyes and leans against the stone wall in front of them. "You're good at anything you set your mind to."

"Thank you. But my heart is in building and restoring jaegers." She glances sideways at her co-pilot. "What about you?"

He shrugs. "Never really thought about the future."

"So you've told me." Mako copies Raleigh's pose, resting both elbows on the wide stone wall wrapping around the massive balcony. "Would you retire?"

"I don't think so. The PPDC was my family for years. And after Yancy… well, I felt lost." Flashing red and blue lights catch his eye, and he trails off to watch miniature emergency vehicles speed along a ribbon of asphalt below.

"Outside of piloting a jaeger," he continues, "I don't know what I want to do. Guess I'll figure it out eventually."

That sour feeling in her stomach returns, though Mako doubts it's from the champagne. But before she can ask the question that's on her mind, someone clears his throat behind them.

"Been looking for you two," Herc says. "We're headed back to the hotel."

 _Finally_ , Mako thinks. She catches Raleigh's eye, and he winks down at her. As they return to the brilliant light of the opulent ballroom, where the remaining guests had shed their stilettos or bowties, Mako notices the fury on Herc's face.

He's not the only one seething after the night's events. Tendo is red in the face and clenching his fists, Mako's three roommates are standing in a tight circle with their arms crossed, and Newt and Dr. Geiszler look like they'll blow up any second. Only Chuck looks calm, and Mako once again feels blindsided by that stoic look on his face.

The limousine ride back to the hotel gives them a chance to vent in private. Everyone shouts over each other, recounting how they nearly punched those "coddled billionaires," as Tendo so eloquently puts it, in the face at least once. Mako happily fills in the details when Raleigh shares what she'd said to the Texan.

By the time pull up to the hotel, however, she's blinking back sleep. She somehow summons enough energy to hang up her dress blues in the closet. Only seconds after she hits the mattress face-first, she passes out.

* * *

After New York, their international travels blur together: Madrid. Milan. Paris. London. Moscow. Anywhere there are influential people with fat pockets, the PPDC's representatives go to fundraise. Raleigh had stopped wondering where they'd be going next.

Even the view from 30,000 feet looks the same after the first few flights. But the flights over France stick in his mind, even as they fly over Russia on the way to Hong Kong.

Somewhere down there had been Jazmine, living with their mom's sister's family in the French countryside. Raleigh had been 10 the last time he'd visited his cousins. Dad had taken the whole family to Paris on one of his business trips. At some point during that two weeks, Mom had suggested they spend the weekend at her sister's.

They'd traveled by train, flying through golden fields under cerulean skies. He, Yancy, and Jazmine had pressed their noses to the windows the whole way there, their imaginations running wild.

Somewhere along the line, the train had zoomed by a crumbling stone manor flanked by decaying wooden shacks. It was an ancient castle, Yancy had said, home to brave knights and beautiful princesses and the good creatures they'd heard about in the fairy tales Mom would tell them. Jazmine had insisted that it was Cinderella's castle— _that's stupid_ , Raleigh had told her, _Cinderella lives at Disney World_. He'd insisted that the castle once belonged to King Arthur and the knights of the round table. Yancy eventually put an end to their little feud by saying they were both right.

Raleigh sighs. He'd lost touch with Jazmine almost thirteen years ago. Would she want to see him again? Had she'd heard about Yancy? Is she even still alive?

A bit of turbulence jolts him out of his thoughts and apparently wakes up Mako. She sits up, yawns, and stretches, then gives him a look.

"What?"

"You seem down," she says, still squinting at him.

"I'm just tired from the—"

"No." There's no escaping her scrutinizing gaze. "There are no secrets between us, remember?"

Raleigh sighs and glances away. "It's my sister. I haven't heard from her in years. And now that we've got some time before the world might end again…"

"You want to find her." Mako nods slowly. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? And don't say it's because I've had a lot on my mind."

He grins sheepishly. "I guess I'm also nervous about trying to look for her. We were never close like you and Jake were. She left us when she was 11. I don't know if she even wants to see me again."

Mako lays a hand on his. "Well, the good thing about being a celebrity," she muses, "is that she knows you're alive. If she wants to reconnect, she knows how to find you."

"I just wish I could let her know I'm thinking about her."

"I have an idea. Once we get back to the Shatterdome, I'll see if I can get in touch with the people Sensei used to know. He always had a way of finding people who didn't want to be found."

"Oh, trust me," Raleigh chuckles, "I know."

* * *

After being surrounded by ocean spray and an evergreen rainforest for so long, the smog and steel skyscrapers of Hong Kong couldn't have felt more alien to Mako. The culture shock must be worse for Raleigh, because he'd gripped her hand as soon as they'd stepped out of the private jet.

It doesn't help that reporters had apparently gotten wind of their arrival. Chattering journalists with flashing cameras swarm around the hotel entrance, and not even the PR reps can shoo them away. Only the hotel manager, a short, stout woman with a fiery temper, keeps them at bay.

Raleigh doesn't let go of Mako's hand until they reach their respective rooms. She squeezes his hand twice as they separate and steps into the cozy suite, where her roommates had already made themselves at home. As the door shuts with a soft click, Mako flops backward onto the mattress beside one of the three LOCCENT officers, Celeste Ramos.

"I'm exhausted," Mako mutters.

"Preaching to the choir," Celeste replies. "How many more days we got left?"

"Y'all aren't having fun?" Beka Lincoln, the blonde hailing from Georgia, smirks at them from one of the mirrors on the wall. "We're going sightseeing in a few minutes. Come join us."

Celeste and Mako groan in unison, which gets a chuckle out of Beka.

"I've decided to be a hermit after I leave the PPDC." Celeste grunts as she sits up. "Get a log cabin out in the Adirondacks, live off the land, and read a whole library's worth of books."

"Sounds peaceful," Emilia Soto says as she applies blood-red lipstick.

"That's the plan." Celeste snatches the TV remote off the nightstand and flips through the channels. It's mostly news—including footage of Operation Pitfall's survivors slipping through the crowd of reporters outside the hotel not half an hour earlier. She shuts the TV off. "What about you three?"

"More traveling," Emilia replies. "I'm running out of pages in my passport, though, so I'll need to renew that when we get back."

"Where you wanna go first?"

Emilia purses her lips. "Somewhere warm."

Beka chuckles as she puts in a pair of dangly earrings. "Amen to that. The Canadian winters have about killed me."

Celeste snickers. "So I take it you two don't want to retire to Vancouver?"

Beka rolls her eyes, and Emilia nudges Celeste on her way to the bathroom. Celeste flops dramatically back onto the bed beside Mako.

"What about you, Mako?" Beka asks, turning around.

"Hm?" Mako yawns and pries her eyes open.

"When they kick us out of the Shatterdome, where are you headed next?"

"Haven't really thought about that." She sits up and leans back on her hands. "Maybe I'll apply to Shao Industries again, help build the next fleet of Mark VIs."

Beka whistles. "More power to you. I'm taking my pension and getting out. Pitfall was too much."

"Rebecca!" Emilia hisses from the bathroom.

Beka swears loudly. "Sorry, Mako."

"No, I agree with you." She returns a small smile. "But I can't see myself doing anything else."

The conversation fizzles out, and Mako lays back down again. She barely registers Beka and Emilia slipping out of the hotel room, or the gentle knock at the door a few minutes later. Soft snoring beside her tells Mako that Celeste had fallen asleep, so she reluctantly slides off the mattress to answer the door.

She finds Raleigh standing in the doorway with a sleepy grin on his face. "Hey," he says, "did I wake you up?"

"Wasn't really sleeping. Celeste is, though. One sec." She snatches a key card from one of the dressers and steps into the hallway, closing the door softly behind her. "What's up?"

"Heard there's a rooftop bar. Want to check it out?"

It's an enchanting view. There's a pearly glow around the neighboring skyscrapers. Golden light spills onto the wooden deck from underneath the obsidian bar wrapping around the entire perimeter. Despite the chill in the air, there are handful of guests seated outdoors around faux fire pits.

Mako orders their drinks—she needs to brush up on her Cantonese, after all—while Raleigh stakes out an empty table by a heater. Fortunately, he finds one in a quiet corner. Mako slips into the seat beside him, and they settle in facing the skyline.

"I've been thinking," she starts, swirling her drink around in her glass, "about what happens after the press tour."

"Seems to be on everyone's minds lately," Raleigh mutters. "Tendo and I were just talking about that. What's your plan?"

"I'd like to work for Shao again. The PPDC is going to move to Hong Kong, anyway, so I might as well move with it. Like you said, the PPDC has been my family for years." She sneaks a glance at her co-pilot, but he hasn't taken his gaze off the neon lights filling the night sky.

"I think that's a great idea," he replies.

"So what are you going to do?"

He shrugs. "Dunno yet. But I can tell you one thing: I'm not letting an ocean separate us again."

Mako brightens. "You'd want to come to Hong Kong with me?"

"Of course." He takes his gaze off the skyline and fixes his blue eyes on her. "We're co-pilots. Partners. Where you go, I go."

But their plans change slightly after the ribbon cutting ceremony for Shao Industries' jaeger testing and pilot training facility, Hong Kong Shatterdome. After Liwen Shao had introduced her fleet of Mark VI law enforcement and search-and-rescue jaegers, Herc had announced he would be stepping down as Marshal, with LOCCENT officer Chenglei Quan taking his place.

Herc would be accepting the job of Kwoon Fightmaster, Mako later learns—and he'd need a second-in-command. Raleigh had been his first choice.

"I'm going to take it," Raleigh tells Mako over drinks the next night.

"Good—you'd be perfect for it."

"But I'll be living at the Shatterdome."

A heavy feeling settles over both of them. They'd lived just across the hall from each other for the last two months. In just a few weeks, the South China Sea would separate them.

Mako frowns. "It will certainly take some getting used to. Maybe we can Skype every other night and visit each other at least once a week."

"If life doesn't get too busy." Raleigh frowns, and Mako doesn't have to peer into his head to know he's thinking about what happened after he graduated. They'd promised to keep in touch, but, well, Mako's engineering classes and Raleigh's Ranger duties had gotten in the way. And then there had been Knifehead…

Mako reaches for Raleigh's hand. "It won't be like last time. It's like you said, we're co-pilots. Besides, I'll know where you live." She winks.

"That's true," Raleigh chuckles.

The heavy feeling sticks around, but knowing they have over a month before they have to leave each other's side lifts the burden somewhat.

* * *

"There's something I want to do while we're here," Mako says over breakfast on February 19th. It's the first of their two days off in Hong Kong, and Raleigh had been itching to get out of the hotel. Besides, it's the first nice day they'd seen in a week.

The Ghost Drift doesn't keep her idea secret, but Raleigh asks about it anyway.

"I need the Marshal's permission first." She looks to Herc, but he's too busy digging into his breakfast potatoes to notice. "Marshal Hansen?"

Chuck nudges his father and nods to Mako.

"May I have your permission to visit Tokyo today?"

"What's there?" Herc asks. His gentle tone tells Raleigh he can guess what's on Mako's mind.

"My parents. I'd like to pay my respects."

"Of course. I'll see if I can pull some strings to get you on the next flight. You going, too?" He gestures to Raleigh.

Mako nods before Raleigh can open his mouth. "Then that's a yes," he says.

By that afternoon, they're stepping off the Chuo-Ome train into a quaint town square. Mako leads Raleigh down a quiet street flanked by traditional homes and beautiful gardens, until she freezes at the sight of a little girl's red shoe on a street corner. As they approach, Raleigh can't help but notice the fresh bouquets placed next to faded photos of parents and children—Mako's neighbors, who died in the same fire that killed her parents.

Mako kneels by the makeshift memorial, reverently rearranging paper cranes that had toppled over in the breeze. Raleigh kneels next to her. It's not long before a familiar-looking elderly woman shuffles up the street with a fresh bouquet, which she almost drops when she spies Mako.

Mako stands and bows to the teary-eyed Mrs. Kim, and Raleigh does the same. His Japanese is rusty, but he manages to catch most of their conversation.

" _What brings you to Tokyo again?_ " Mrs. Kim asks. She lets Mako take her fresh bouquet and lay it beside the others.

" _I want to honor my parents and my neighbors_ ," Mako tells her. " _And I'd like your blessing. Would you allow me to give them a permanent monument?_ "

Mrs. Kim bursts into tears, and Mako moves to console her. " _Yes, little Mako,_ " she manages. " _Then no one will be able to forget them._ "

Over tea at Mrs. Kim's home, Mako diligently takes notes as Mrs. Kim lists the names of everyone who'd died in the apartment fire, now twenty years ago. Mako also tells her former neighbor about her ideas for the permanent memorial. It would be a large stone monument, not unlike the family graves in the village. There would be vases for flowers, as well as a chamber for the relics left behind—including the family photos and Mako's little red shoe.

Before leaving for the local gravestone designer, Mako gives Mrs. Kim her phone number and promises she would visit soon. Mrs. Kim, in turn, says she and Raleigh both would always be welcome.

Exhaustion hits as soon as they take their seats on the train. Mako collapses against Raleigh and barely moves the entire ride back to the city. Her thoughts wander off to her childhood and what little she can remember about her parents: her mother's comforting smile, her father's calloused hands.

"Your parents would be proud of you, Mako," Raleigh mutters. He takes her hand in his. "And not just for honoring them with that monument."

She absently scratches at her forearm tattoo. "I want to make sure I don't forget them."

"You won't. Memories have a funny way of sticking around."'

On the plane ride back to Hong Kong, Raleigh lets his mind wander. Now that the ribbon cutting ceremony and the major press appearances are out of the way, he and Mako can finally spend quality time together. Maybe they'd go sightseeing or try out some of the local restaurants Mako had found when she'd lived in Hong Kong. Or maybe they'd just spend all of their time high above the city at the rooftop bar.

But Raleigh's daydreams shatter when he and Mako find Herc waiting for them in the hotel lobby.

"I hate to be the one to tell you this, Mako," he says, "especially after a long day. But your brother's been arrested."

The Ghost Drift swells with shock, relief, and disbelief. "How?" Is all Mako can manage.

"Caught trespassing in Oblivion Bay." Herc lowers his voice. "He and a minor were after jaeger parts. He's being held back at the Shatterdome. I figured you should be one of the first people he talks to."

 _This should've been a relaxing evening_ , Raleigh thinks as he helps Mako pack up her suitcase. _And this shouldn't have been the way you found out your brother's alive._

 _I know_. She's close to tears as she slips out of the empty hotel room. Celeste, Beka, and Emilia must be exploring the city with the rest of Operation Pitfall's survivors. She's grateful Raleigh had stuck with her all day.

_I thought I'd never see Jake again. But now I find out he's not only alive, but he's been close by this entire time. What kind of life has he been living? Why did he think stealing jaeger scrap would be better than making his own luck?_

Raleigh takes her hand, and they stride across the lobby in step. He doesn't let go until Mako steps into the awaiting SUV. "Mako," he says before shutting the door behind her. "Keep me posted, okay?"

She nods, and the shuttle peels away. Raleigh doesn't turn back inside until the SUV's tail lights had long since vanished into the foggy night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't plan for this chapter to be so long, but given my irregular posting schedule, I thought, "why not?" Hope you enjoyed the 8,000-word chapter. ;)
> 
> Like the ["Honoring Those We Lost" chapter](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17389808/chapters/43983331), this one explores how our heroes are coping in the chaos following Operation Pitfall. This time, the commemorating gets personal for Mako and Raleigh.
> 
> This chapter is more of a collection of vignettes. Some scenes are based on prompts I've been mulling over for a while but haven't developed into full stories. (You can find some of them [here on my Tumblr](https://eadrey-the-iptscray.tumblr.com/tagged/a-rare-thing-indeed), including inspiration for the [matching tattoos scene](https://eadrey-the-iptscray.tumblr.com/post/182994723347/quigonejinn-damedurohan-the-press-has-a-field).) Mako's flashback of Pentecost and Tamsin Sevier is inspired by "Tales From Year Zero."
> 
> I've got half of the next chapter written, so the next update should be sooner than a month. Thank you for sticking around with this story. I hope it's been as much of a pleasure to read as it has been to write.
> 
> * * *
> 
> PREVIOUSLY IN "A RARE THING, INDEED"
> 
> From this chapter on, there will be a lot of callbacks to the first two parts in this series. This chapter's include, in order:
> 
> \- **Mako's tattoo ([Part One, Chapter 3](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15346686/chapters/36209823))**: A katana commemorating her father, who was a sword-maker.  
> \- **Ace and Spades Smith ([Part Two, Chapter 7](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16525136/chapters/40253366))**: Alexander and Catherine Smith, Lady Danger's first pilots, who retired from the service to raise kids.  
> \- **Beach camping ([Part One, Chapter 12](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15346686/chapters/38287136))**: In college, Raleigh took Mako to Shi Shi Beach as a distraction from studying. The Drift memories reference Raleigh's solo hike around Cape Flattery six months prior ([Part One, Chapter 6](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15346686/chapters/37112115)).  
> \- **The Demon Slayer ([Part Two, Chapter 4](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16525136/chapters/39228492))**: A humanoid mech Mako built to distract herself after Yancy died and Raleigh vanished.  
> \- **The scenic drive ([Part One, Chapter 13](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15346686/chapters/38454314))**: The route from Port Angeles to Pacific Rim University. Mako and Raleigh took it separately to/from a robotics competition and New Year's Eve bar crawl, respectively, and together after Raleigh's graduation.  
> \- **"Like it or not, we're connected" ([Part One, Chapter 3](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15346686/chapters/36209823#workskin))**: Raleigh said this to Mako after they figured out they shared a neural connection long after leaving the Drift.  
> \- **Stacker Pentecost's speech ([Part Two, Chapter 6](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16525136/chapters/39731772))**: A call to arms for the entire world after footage of Striker Eureka taking down Ceramander leaked to worldwide news outlets.  
> \- **The American and Panamanian representatives ([Part Two, Chapter 8](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16525136/chapters/40461593))**: The ones mentioned during the televised decision to defund the Jaeger Program in favor of the Anti-Kaiju Wall, which happened eight months before Operation Pitfall.  
> \- **Mrs. Kim ([Part Two, Chapter 5](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16525136/chapters/39463933))**: Mako's former neighbor, who told Mako about the fire that killed her parents. It's revealed in Mako's RABIT chase ([Part Three, Chapter 3](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17389808/chapters/41559686)) that Mrs. Kim helped save Mako from that fire.
> 
> You can [read a quick recap of Parts One and Two](https://eadrey-the-iptscray.tumblr.com/arti-in-a-nutshell) over on my Tumblr.


	16. The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **SPOILER WARNING:** We're getting into exposition territory for "Pacific Rim: Uprising."
> 
> * * *
> 
> CHAPTER SOUNDTRACK:  
> \- "Amara" by Lorne Balfe  
> \- "Come Down" by Anderson .Paak  
> \- "Hey Child" by X Ambassadors  
> \- "I Lost a Friend" by Finneas  
> \- "Little Do You Know" by Alex & Sierra  
> \- "Out of Nowhere" by Seafret  
> \- "Big Plans" by Why Don't We  
> \- "She's the One" by Robbie Williams

**SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2025**  
**SOMEWHERE OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN**

 

The teenager hadn't said much during her interrogation, just kept her arms crossed and her gaze on the floor. The two officers sitting across from her had only managed to squeeze a name—Amara Namani—and a few words out of her: "Keep me here all you'd like, I'm not telling you anything."

Herc had sent Mako all the info the PPDC had on the two scrappers, as they'd called themselves. Not just videos of their interrogations, but a bunch of notes and evidence photos, too. Before the jet had even taken off from Hong Kong, Mako had buried herself under that virtual mountain of homework.

The teen's surname sounds familiar, but Mako can't quite place it. She's hoping that watching Amara's interrogation would clear things up. But the teen doesn't let slip anything personal—at least at first.

Close to the midway mark in her interrogation, Amara had launched out of her seat. Mako rewinds the video feed to just a minute before to see what had set her off:

"—discovered your unauthorized jaeger in a condemned warehouse," one of the officers had said. "We've taken it in as evidence. Tell us what you're using it for, or we'll take it apart to find out for ourselves."

"You found Scrapper?" That had been the first time the officers had gotten any reaction out of the teen. "How?"

Mako pulls up the photos of Amara's jaeger. It's a patchwork of parts rather than a sleek manufactured mech like the ones she'd seen on the Shao Industries testing floor. The mech is standing on legs fashioned from rusty road signs and license plates, wearing what looks like a breastplate created from a mini-fridge door. Its hands—the left a backhoe shovel, the right an industrial claw crane—dangle around its knees. A crushed stop sign crowns the jaeger's hornet-like head.

Despite all that, the design is humanoid. Much like Mako's own Demon Slayer and Shao's Mark VIs. But that kind of design just isn't practical for a two-pilot system.

 _Is it remotely operated?_ Mako wonders. _There's no way even one pilot can fit into that jaeger._

There's no info in the report. All the senior J-Techs had been away on a press tour or setting up tech for the Shatterdome museum. That's one of the reasons why Herc had asked Mako to go back early.

"Tell me you're the only ones who know about Scrapper," the teen groaned. The officers glanced at each other. Amara's eyes went wide, and she slumped back into her seat. "Chau is gonna kill me if he finds out about her."

Hannibal Chau. It's the first time Mako had heard that name, but the PPDC has detailed files on him. Newt, apparently, had gotten a kaiju brain from the local black market dealer in order to dig up intel for Operation Pitfall. If Chau has kids like Amara doing his dirty, dangerous work, Mako figures she has a good reason to hate the guy.

Amara clearly hadn't gotten the reaction she'd expected from the officers opposite her. "Have you two been living under a rock? I'm a scrapper," she said condescendingly. "I pick apart jaegers and bring the parts to Chau. If he finds out I've been stealing parts to build my own jaeger…"

She raked her thumb across her throat in the universal _I'm dead_ gesture.

"What does Chau need jaeger parts for?" One of the officers asked.

Amara threw a pointed look at the security camera before leaning forward in her seat. "Jaeger boxing. Duh."

Another piece of the puzzle. But it doesn't take Mako long to figure out what the teen had been talking about. Headlines like "Vancouver authorities bust underground jaeger fighting ring" and "3 killed and 30 wounded when unauthorized jaeger explodes in Hong Kong warehouse" pop up after a cursory news search.

 _At least the jaegers in Oblivion Bay are being recycled_ , she thinks wryly, closing out of Amara's interrogation.

Her finger hovers over the second video file. Mako barely recognizes the young man in the screencap. It had been almost a year since she'd last talked to her brother, and almost four years since she'd seen him in person. From the grimace on his face, he'd been carrying a grudge around that whole time.

Mako takes a deep breath. Then, she clicks the video.

"I was in a bit of a bind, okay?" Jake was leaning forward in his seat, propped up on his elbows like he was the one calling the shots. "I got on the wrong side of one of the local crime bosses. Goes by Sonny. I was after that power core to buy myself out of the problem. Only she"—he jerked his thumb toward Amara's holding cell—"got to it first."

Jake lowered his voice. "Chau and Sonny don't play nice, so their scrappers don't, either. Smallie over there thinks she's hot stuff. But between you and me, I would've gotten the power core if you hadn't shown up."

A million questions tumble around Mako's head: _How'd he go from promising jaeger pilot to this? Why isn't he taking the situation seriously? If he was in so much trouble, why didn't he ask me for help? What's going to happen to him now that he's been caught?_

She checks the time. It's been six hours since the jet left Hong Kong. With six more to reach Vancouver, Mako has plenty of time to prepare for what she can only expect will be a bittersweet reunion. She starts by sending Herc an email, hoping he'll give her a peace offering she can extend to Jake.

Two hours later, he does. And Mako bets that, no matter how much Jake resents the PPDC, he'd say yes to Herc's offer.

It's just after 20:00 when the helicopter touches down at the Shatterdome. Mako races across the icy tarmac and down to her room, barely pausing to drop her bags on her bed before rushing up to the holding cells on Floor D. She's glad she had the foresight to change into her dress blues on the jet.

Mako smooths out her coat and straightens her wig as she steps off the elevator, faltering as she passes Sensei's office. But she's a good soldier. And, she hopes, a good daughter. Taking a deep breath, Mako continues down the empty hallway. Her footsteps echo off the concrete walls.

She knocks on the first door, the observation room beside Amara's holding cell. The guard steps out to unlock the cell door, and he leaves as silently as he entered. Amara doesn't look up until Mako slides into the seat across from her. When she does, the teen drops her defiant facade.

"You're Mako Mori," she whispers, her eyes going wide.

Mako raises an eyebrow.

Amara sits up straighter. "Pilot of Lady Danger, savior of… basically the whole world." She whistles appreciatively. "It's an honor to meet you, ma'am."

Mako hesitates before shaking Amara's outstretched hand. "You know why you're here, right?" She asks eventually.

The defiant facade goes back up. "Yeah."

"Why'd you do it?"

Amara's cheeks go pink, and she mumbles something under her breath. But Mako does catch the word "jaeger."

Mako pulls up the photos of the makeshift mech on her tablet and swipes through them. Like she'd anticipated, that gets Amara's attention. The teen even tries to sneak a peek at the screen.

"You seem like… an enthusiast." She turns the tablet so Amara can see. "Resourceful. Smart. Of course your jaeger is operational."

"Well…" Amara frowns. "That's what the power core was for."

Mako swats her comment aside with a wave of her hand. "You don't seem like the type to throw your pet project—Scrapper, right?—into a jaeger fighting ring. So why'd you build her?"

Amara slouches back in her seat, her feisty attitude dissolving. Had she been a Ranger, Mako would've assumed from her faraway look that she's chasing a RABIT.

"They're gonna come back," she says. "That's what the Marshal said, right? In one of your interviews?"

Mako nods.

"I built Scrapper so I could fight back. After mom and dad…" Amara takes a slow, shaky breath. "They didn't know what was on the other side of the Breach. I do. And I want to be ready."

 _Namani_. Now Mako remembers where she'd seen that name—in the Memorial Garden. Just a few headstones over from Aunt Luna's. "Then I think you'll like what I have to say."

And sure enough, Amara accepts Mako's offer without needing much convincing.

 _That wasn't so bad_ , Mako muses as she steps out into the empty hallway. _Now to talk to Jake._

She doesn't look at her brother as she enters his holding cell. Instead, she focuses on the two officers as they rise from their chairs and slip past her into the hallway. Only when she and Jake are alone does she meet his impassive gaze.

"My sister from another mister," he mumbles. "Figured you'd hear about this. You make some calls, pull some strings?"

There's no humor in his words, just bitterness hiding under the lighthearted statements. Long gone is the kid who used to make her laugh until she cried and always had her back during family snowball fights.

There's a stoic expression on Jake's face now, but it's nothing like Sensei's. It's harsher, demanding solitude rather than respect.

Mako takes the seat across from her brother. He sits back in his chair in response, sliding just out of reach. A lump rises in her throat as she draws her hand back to her lap.

Finally, Mako finds her words. "I was hoping we wouldn't meet like this."

Jake shrugs and looks away.

 _Why's he acting so indifferent?_ He and Sensei had always looked similar, and Mako can remember Jake trying to walk and talk like his father even as a kid. But in the three years since he'd last stepped into the Shatterdome, he'd apparently done everything he could to hide his connection to Sensei and the PPDC.

"You were caught trespassing in Oblivion Bay. Stealing PPDC tech."

"I wouldn't have if smallie over there hadn't nicked my power core. Didn't help that I had a gun to my head—literally," he chuckled darkly.

"Jake, this is serious."

"Which is why you're here, right?" Jake leans forward, though not close enough for Mako to reach out. "To bail me out? Clean up my messes before dad—"

"Sensei's gone," she whispers.

Jake crosses his arms. "Yeah, I know. It was on every news station in the country." His voice cracks, and the ghost of her 12-year-old brother flickers across his face. Then it's gone, replaced with a deadened gaze that no 18-year-old should wear.

The metal table separating Mako from her brother feels as cold as the distance between them. Had Jake not made it clear that he's in no mood for a touching reunion, Mako would've leaped up from the table to hug him.

Jake is glaring at her when she blinks back to the present. "So how do I get outta here?"

"They're not just going to let you walk out. But there is another way."

"Great. Love it. What do I gotta do?"

"Re-enlist."

Jake's jaw drops. "Seriously, Mako?"

"Finish what you started. You had one trimester left at the Academy, right?"

"Aren't I a little too old to be a cadet?"

It's Mako's turn to glare at her sibling. "You and I both know that's not true." She vividly remembers Jake complaining about being one of the youngest recruits in his class—back when they were still talking. She herself had been in a class with forty- and fifty-somethings.

"There's a training class transferring to the new Shatterdome in Hong Kong," Mako continues. "You and your friend will join them."

"My friend—oh, smallie?" He wrinkles his nose. "We're not friends. And I'm not rejoining the Jaeger Academy. What's behind door number two?"

Mako smirks despite herself. "You'll leave for Hong Kong at 13:00 tomorrow."

The door to the holding cell creaks open, and Jake's face falls when he sees who's standing in the doorway. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me…"

"I take it you already know Ranger Lambert?" Mako rises from her seat and gestures to her old Kwoon fightmaster. "See you soon, Jake. And keep me updated," she mutters to Ranger Lambert.

He nods curtly, his aquiline stare fixed on Jake. Her brother stares back, refusing to break eye contact.

"Nate." Jake frowns. "Long time."

"Duke," Ranger Lambert replies just as sharply. "Not long enough."

Jake sneers at his given name, but he doesn't have a snarky comeback. Mako finds some comfort knowing that she's not the only one hurt by Jake's prodigal return. In the time she'd known Ranger Lambert, she'd noticed he rarely called anyone by their first name, much less a name they despised.

But the spiteful feeling doesn't last, and the tears start falling as soon as Mako shuts the door behind her.

* * *

"Ranger Mori?"

Mako looks up from her breakfast. Ranger Lambert is hovering at the edge of the empty Operation Pitfall table. The shadows under his bloodshot eyes make him look like he hadn't slept all night.

"Is everything alright?" She asks.

His jaw twitches. "Jake wants to talk to you."

"I already told him what the Marshal—"

"Please."

Mako frowns. Not long after leaving Jake's holding cell, it had hit her that Ranger Lambert had been her brother's Drift partner back at the Jaeger Academy. She'd always assumed that the Nate he kept venting about had been a mirror of Jake—rebellious, rarely serious, a little full of himself.

"A square-jawed poster boy for the Ranger service" was what Jake had called his partner years ago. Mako had teased him about it, considering Jake had been so enthusiastic to enlist.

Looking at Ranger Lambert now, Mako can't help but think Jake's description had been spot on. And that her brother must be making his life miserable.

"Take a break, Ranger," Mako says. "I'll go see what he wants."

What had looked like an interrogation room the night before had transformed into a jail cell. Whoever had left the cot along the far wall had shoved the metal table and chairs aside. An empty mess hall tray lay on the tabletop, and Jake is tossing the cup that came with it up into the air.

"Finally." Jake drops the cup on his cot and jumps to his feet. "I guess Nate got tired of my singing. Listen, Mako, I've got to get out of this room. I'm going stir crazy."

"That's the point of a holding cell."

His mouth twitches, but the smile vanishes. At least that joke had been enough to splinter the barrier between them.

"Seriously, though. Can I stretch my legs?"

Mako purses her lips. "I'm not supposed to let you out of here…"

"Aw, c'mon, Mako." He channels his 12-year-old self again by pouting.

 _That's a little much_ , Mako thinks. _But fresh air can't hurt. A quiet walk would do us both some good._

"This isn't what I had in mind," Jake mutters as Mako leads him across the icy grounds of the Shatterdome. Two PPDC officer flank him, and just to make sure their prisoner wouldn't try to escape, they'd slapped a pair of handcuffs on him.

Mako shrugs. "Protocol."

As they reach the path that once led to the Breach, she pauses. Sometime during the month-long press tour, a plaque had been set up marking the Walk of Heroes: the jaegers' trek to the Breach and the Anteverse beyond. On it is a detailed map of Trespasser's rampage, along with a description of the K-Day attack.

That's not the only change Mako notices. Small solar-powered lamps flank either side of the Walk of Heroes. The pale blue light leads them into the frigid rainforest, where ancient evergreens mute the crashing surf and winter wind. The silence alone deems it hallowed ground.

Two pairs of crunching footsteps pause as the group approaches the blackened stump. This is the first time, Mako realizes, that she's seen the clearing empty since she, Raleigh, and Chuck emerged from the Breach.

Had it only been six weeks since that blackened stump held the key to humanity's destruction? Since she and Raleigh had turned their backs on their home world, thinking they'd never see another pastel sunrise or smell the sea breeze? Mako can almost taste the sulfuric ozone in her memories, and her stomach churns. She clutches the side of the plaque to anchor herself in the present.

Jake, meanwhile, is focusing on the memorial itself. There's no hint of bitter indifference or defiance on his face, but there is an air of defeat about him. Mako follows his gaze as he reads the plaque:

**IN HONOR OF THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN**  
**WHO SACRIFICED THEIR COMFORT, SAFETY, AND LIVES**  
**TO DEFEND THE WORLD AGAINST THE KAIJU.**

**YOUR NAMES WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.**

On the plaque are more than fifty names. Luna Pentecost's is one of the first Mako spies. It's toward the top, along with a few she knows well: Caitlin Lightcap and her co-pilot, Sergio D'Onofrio. Bruce and Trevin Gage, familiar in part because of sharing Raleigh's memories. Sasha and Aleksis Kaidonovsky are listed with their fellow Mark I pilots, and Cheung, Hu, and Jin Wei with the Mark IVs.

Mako's heart sinks at seeing Tamsin Sevier and Stacker Pentecost. Instinctively, she reaches out and runs her fingers over their names.

"Sensei used to say we were the knights of our time," she mumbles, "standing watch to slay the dragons beyond."

Jake freezes on those two names, too. Slowly, Mako moves to place her hand on his shoulder, but her brother jumps back, ice in his eyes.

"Jake…"

"Is this why you brought me here?" He hisses. "To cry over dad? Have a touching family reunion? Get me pumped about re-enlisting?" His hardened gaze is back, and it wounds Mako more than the words he's slinging at her. "We're done here," he calls to the guards.

"I thought you were dead," she whispers.

"For two years, Mako?"

"You stopped answering my calls and texts. Got yourself involved with… with… stealing jaeger scrap!"

Jake's face darkens. "Had no choice, did I? Dad kicked me out of the Jaeger Academy, and my big sis was halfway across the world. You didn't even come home for Christmas."

He kicks at a chunk of ice, sending it skittering across the crushed earth into the trees. "You weren't there for me, Mako."

Like a double-edged sword, his words slice straight through her. She thought she'd steeled herself for a bittersweet reunion, but she hadn't been prepared for this.

"I… I didn't realize you felt that way. I'm sorry I left," she says, shoving her trembling hands into her coat pockets. "I let work get in the way of family, and—"

"I'm not talking about you flying off to Hong Kong." Jake sighs and glances toward the two guards, who are hovering at the edge of their conversation. "When you went off to college," he continues, "you started distancing yourself. Yeah, we lived in the same house, but it's like you weren't there. Every time I wanted to talk with you about something, you were chatting with best friend. Or boyfriend. Whoever that was."

Mako feels her face flush. "Raleigh?"

"Yep, that's the one. And when he disappeared, so did you." He sniffs, and Mako realizes she's crying, too.

"Now we're done," Jake calls, and the two guards crunch over to retrieve their prisoner. Mako soon finds herself alone at the memorial plaque, her fingertips still tracing over Tam's and Sensei's names. A silent sob burns her throat as Jake's words replay in her mind.

 _Which is worse?_ She thinks bitterly. _Never knowing if you'll see your brother again, or knowing he's alive but wants nothing to do with you?_ With a last reverent look at her Sensei's name, she swipes tears from her eyes and turns on her heel.

The solitary walk back to the Shatterdome seems twice as long and cold.

She finds her phone buzzing on her desk when she slinks into her room. It's from an unknown number, but she has a good idea of who's on the other line. "Hello?"

"What's wrong?" Raleigh's voice is thick with sleep, and Mako realizes it must be early morning in Hong Kong.

 _Did the Ghost Drift wake you up?_ She wants to ask. When Raleigh lost his brother all those years ago, she remembers waking up in a panic. She'd felt her best friend's pain like it was her own, even though they were halfway across the country. Apparently, they could feel each other's pain across the globe.

But Mako can't find her words. A sob escapes her throat, and she collapses onto her bed with her phone pressed to her ear. She misses Raleigh's proximity, and a small voice in the back of her mind wonders if she could stand living so far away from him. For the past two months, everything they'd been through they'd been through together.

"We'll be back Saturday," he reassures her once she'd cried herself out. "But do you want to talk now?"

Mako shakes her head, then remembers he can't see her. "No. It's late for you, and right now I just want to sleep."

"Okay." The line goes silent for a few minutes, and Mako wonders if he'd fallen asleep. Just before she hangs up the phone, Raleigh mutters, "we'll be back before you know it. Sleep well, Mako."

"You, too. Goodnight, Raleigh."

But sleep evades her. And based on the agitation in the Ghost Drift, she assumes Raleigh can't fall back asleep, either. The next six days, she imagines, will feel like an eternity.

* * *

Raleigh had been looking forward to the end of the press tour since the night he'd watched Mako vanish into the gloom of Hong Kong. Although the half-day's flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver and seemingly interminable helicopter ride to the Shatterdome had drained him, he can't help but grin at he spies the tarmac floating above the treetops.

White lights pierce through the darkness, welcoming Operation Pitfall's survivors home. The Sikorsky swoops down and around through the driving rain, and Raleigh can make out much of the park from his window. What's new are the tiny dots of light curving through the forest, outlining the path Trespasser had carved into Pacific Rim National Park Reserve more than a decade ago.

As the helicopter swoops over the Shatterdome, he spies a massive black umbrella anchored by a lone figure. _This looks familiar_ , Raleigh thinks, his smile growing wider.

But an unwelcome thought ebbs into his mind, sending his stomach somersaulting.

Spending just a week away from Mako had been uncomfortable. In the 66 days since they'd reunited, they hadn't been more than a few hundred meters from each other. That's just Shatterdome life. Not being in the same city, let alone on the same side of the globe, had felt disorienting.

Not for the first time that week, Raleigh wonders whether he should've turned down the job at the Hong Kong Shatterdome.

The Sikorsky touches down and jolts Raleigh out of his thoughts. He can dwell on them later. Mako is waiting for him.

One by one, his fellow passengers sprint through the pouring rain, no doubt glad to be back home—well, for the next few days, at least. Raleigh, however, takes his time, pretending to struggle with his bag so he'll be the last off the helicopter.

Stepping onto the dark, rainy tarmac feels like déjà vu. In the center of the helipad, Mako is a statue, unmoved despite the bitter wind and frigid rain beating against her long black coat. Only when Raleigh approaches does she stir, handing him the last umbrella on her arm. She tilts her own umbrella up, and Raleigh grins down at his co-pilot.

There's no electric blue hair framing her face. In fact, Mako isn't even wearing her wig. Her short black hair crowns her head, accentuating her rich brown eyes and sharp jawline. The rucksack slips off Raleigh's shoulder when she returns his smile.

By some miracle, he can still form complete sentences. "I would hug you, but..."

With her free hand, Mako pulls him close. Raleigh tosses aside his umbrella and hugs her back, resting his chin on top of her head. Contentment surges through the Ghost Drift, washing away the apprehension and despair of the past week.

Freezing rain soaks through Raleigh's coat, but embracing Mako is like sitting in front of a roaring fire. His heart warms—literally—as she buries her face into his sweater. But her steady breathing becomes more ragged, and she eventually pulls away to wipe her eyes.

"Hey," he mutters, squeezing her shoulders gently. "You thinking about Jake?"

Mako straightens and nods, inclining her head toward the elevator. She sticks close while he picks up his soaked rucksack and dumps the puddle out of his umbrella, but she doesn't say a word until they're back at their rooms.

While Raleigh busies himself by hanging up his press tour clothes and rucksack to dry, Mako leans against his doorway as she catches him up on the past week.

"Jake's right," she mutters. "I was so caught up with school, then work, that I didn't ever ask how he was doing. Maybe… maybe I was distancing myself."

Raleigh leans against his bunk and crosses his arms. "So what?"

"Excuse me?"

"What if Jake's right?" He continues. "You can't help how he feels. And you can't redo the past, no matter how much you'd like to."

Raleigh can feel Yancy's eyes boring into his back from the picture on the wall. "Guilt can eat you up from the inside. Accepting your past takes time."

"And if Jake doesn't want to see me again?"

His heart breaks with Mako's voice. He's across the room in an instant, wrapping his co-pilot into another hug.

"Then that's his problem," Raleigh mutters into her hair. "But you know what?" He chuckles. "If he's going to be a cadet again, I'll be his fightmaster. I won't go easy on him in the Kwoon."

Mako pushes him away, but she's wearing a small smile. "Don't give him too much of a hard time."

"No promises." He winks. "But speaking of the Kwoon…"

"I was just about to ask, actually." Mako shrugs off her rain-soaked coat, waiting for Raleigh to follow before stepping across the hall toward her room. "We haven't sparred in a while."

"Which means I have a good chance of winning."

Mako's eyes light up with that competitive spark Raleigh has come to love, and he's glad he brought up the subject.

"Not a chance, Mr. Becket."

Raleigh grins as they saunter down the hallway together.

* * *

After spending more than twelve hours traveling and over an hour sparring, Raleigh finally feels the exhaustion sink in. But there's no way he's going to sleep on an empty stomach. So he and Mako march straight from the Kwoon to the mess hall, where despite the late hour, they find Operation Pitfall's survivors congregating at their table.

Well, almost all of them.

Newt had stayed in Hong Kong to start working under Liwen Shao. Raleigh had to admit his absence is a breath of fresh air. Without Newt there to debate Dr. Gottlieb about everything under the sun, and usually in German, Raleigh had actually been able to sleep on the jet.

The other half of K-Science isn't there, either. Raleigh had never pegged Dr. Gottlieb as the social type. Dinner with the same crew he'd spent a month traveling with probably hadn't been high on the K-Scientist's priorities.

It's nice to see that the three LOCCENT officers had rejoined their table. Celeste and Emilia are engrossed in their own conversation, while Beka is gushing over photos on Tendo's phone. Raleigh peers over their shoulders on the way to the kitchen, and he spies a toddler with a mop of curly black hair grinning back from the photo.

Raleigh and Mako rejoin the table just as Beka asks what everyone's planning to do after the Shatterdome turns into a museum.

Tendo pipes up first. "Retiring. I haven't spent much time with Alison or Harry since, well, last year." He smiles down at his phone. "Can't believe my kid is walking now."

"Just wait 'til he starts running." Herc winks. Raleigh's surprised to see Chuck crack a smile. "We hate to lose you, Tendo, but family is more important. Now who else is retiring?"

Celeste, Emilia, and Beka shoot their hands up. Mako makes a _sort of_ gesture. But it's Chuck's subtle finger lift that Raleigh zeroes in on. Unfortunately, he doesn't hear Chuck's reasoning for a few minutes.

Like Tendo, Celeste is returning home to spend time with family. Beka and Emilia, on the other hand, plan to spend a few months traveling together.

"As much as I love y'all," Beka teases, "I need to go somewhere warm. First stop: Florida."

"Land of sunshine, humidity, and no snow to speak of," Emilia chimes in wistfully.

"Hard pass," Celeste mutters. Raleigh nods in agreement.

"You're not really retiring, are you, Mako?" Tendo asks.

"No. I'll be overseeing some of the jaegers at the new Shatterdome, but I'll be working for Shao Industries again."

"Good thing someone will be there to keep Newt out of trouble. How 'bout you, Becket boy?"

"I'll be joining Herc at the new Shatterdome. Someone has to keep those cadets in line, right?" He elbows Mako lightly and casts a glance at Chuck. Ever since Herc had asked him to be Kwoon fightmaster, he'd wondered if he had been Herc's first choice. Judging from Chuck's indifferent expression, it seems like it.

Everyone turns to Chuck, who'd been quiet for most of the evening. "Retiring," he mutters.

Even Mako seems surprised. _He's not going to train new pilots?_ She thinks. _Or pilot the Mark VIs?_

Before Raleigh can speculate, Chuck speaks up. "C'mon, don't act so surprised. I trained my whole life to be a pilot. Now that I helped save the world, it's time I moved on." He glances at Herc. "Become a better person."

The silence around the table is deafening. Tendo breaks it after just a few seconds.

"Well, hey, good for you. Where you off to?"

"Sydney," Chuck says, rising from the table. "Might go back to school. But if the war picks up again… well, you'll know where to find me. G'night."

The group conversation breaks up as Chuck leaves, followed by Herc a few minutes later. One by one, Operation Pitfall's survivors retreat to the comfort of their own beds.

 _If you would've told me two months ago that Chuck would be leaving the PPDC willingly_ , Mako muses, _I would've laughed. I guess a lot can change in two months._

 _Some things for the better, right?_ Raleigh grips her hand under the table.

She smiles up at him, then yawns. She's not the only one. Those left at the table are blinking back sleep. It's not long after that Mako gets up to go to bed, leaving just Tendo and Raleigh alone at the table.

Before Tendo heads out, too, Raleigh signals him. He throws a quick glance at the doorway Mako just left before leaning forward in his seat. "Can I get your help with something?"

Tendo stifles a yawn. "Can it wait 'til tomorrow?"

"I'll make it quick. I'm planning a surprise for Mako. Top secret."

Tendo waggles his eyebrows. "Top secret, huh? I'm listening."

"I'll have to wait 'til she's asleep. I don't want her eavesdropping. But let's just say that it involves Lady Danger's scrap and a yes or no question."

Before he can blink, Tendo is out of his seat and squeezing Raleigh in a bear hug. "I told you you'd thank me in ten years," Tendo chuckles.

"You did." Raleigh lowers his voice. "I can trust you with this, right?"

"Absolutely."

"You're the man, Tendo. I figure it'll be easier to keep this secret if we use a code. Mako likes naming her pet projects, so I'm going to take a page out of her book."

"Yeah?"

Raleigh nods. "Dragon Slayer has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in addition to "Stranger Things" lore, my fic now features elements from the movie "Real Steel." What can I say? I'm a big fan of crossovers.
> 
> Part Three has been a wild ride. Thanks for sticking around—I hope you've enjoyed it. Hopefully I'll have the first chapter of Part Four posted by the end of next month. 
> 
> I post sneak peeks every so often on my Tumblr. [You can find them here](https://eadrey-the-iptscray.tumblr.com/tagged/a-rare-thing-indeed-update).
> 
> * * *
> 
> PREVIOUSLY IN "A RARE THING, INDEED"
> 
> This chapter's callbacks include, in order:
> 
> \- **12-year-old Jake Pentecost ([Part One, Chapter 7](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15346686/chapters/37313441))**: We first meet Jake after Mako and Raleigh's third Drift.  
> \- **Mako's days as a cadet ([Part Two, Chapter 8](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16525136/chapters/40461593))**: Mako enrolled in the Jaeger Academy in March 2024, after the Kaiju War goes public.  
> \- **Dr. Caitlin Lightcap ([Part One, Chapter 7](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15346686/chapters/37313441))**: Mako and Raleigh first meet the woman responsible for the Jaeger Program during their third Drift.  
> \- **Mako leaves for Hong Kong ([Part Two, Chapter 4](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16525136/chapters/39228492))**: After Yancy dies and Raleigh disappears, everything seems to go downhill for Mako. At the end of this chapter, she leaves for Hong Kong and "doesn't look back."  
> \- **Mako's days at Shao Industries ([Part Two, Chapter 5](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16525136/chapters/39463933))**: After graduating, Mako started her J-Tech career on the Jaeger Testing floor working with Bracer Phoenix and other remote-operated jaegers.  
> \- **Tendo's ten-year promise ([Part One, Chapter 2](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15346686/chapters/35948748))**: Back when he was a lab tech overseeing the Drift experiments, Tendo gave Raleigh Mako's number saying "I guarantee you'll thank me ten years from now."
> 
> You can [read a quick recap of Parts One and Two](https://eadrey-the-iptscray.tumblr.com/arti-in-a-nutshell) over on my Tumblr.


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